Hawkling Asuna
by Bugg18
Summary: Re-written story of Sword Smith Asuna. I'm hoping that this version is better. Still rated M, and Zoro X Oc.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Boy in the Straw Hat

My entire body was in pain. I felt like I could easily collapse and pass out at any moment, but I knew that I couldn't. If I did, then Nami would have to face the wrath Arlong was currently dishing out upon me. A beating like this, she wouldn't be able to survive it…

I don't know how long I've been standing here, taking blow after blow from the massive hand of the shark fishman who sought to use my little sister and I to our fullest potential. Our mental, emotional, and physical well being be damned.

After what felt like an eternity, the blows finally stopped coming. Feeling two fingers wrap clean around my throat, I was powerless to stop myself from being lifted off my feet, and then dangled right before my little sister's tear streaked face.

"I grow tired of this game Nami. Don't you realize that each time you disobey my orders, Asuna here suffers for it? If you'd only draw my charts like a good little girl, I wouldn't have to hurt her so much." Arlong said, a sadistic smirk on his face.

Taking whatever breath I was able to get, I made my face and eyes become emotionless so that Nami wouldn't be able to see how much pain I was currently in. I had to remain strong, so that she could be strong. If we ever wanted to have the chance to get out from under the cruel rule Arlong had over our island, we needed to survive this ordeal. No matter how many years we have to take to reach the one hundred million berry price Arlong had set for us to buy back our home island.

"Alright, I'll draw them! Just please put Asuna down…" Nami pleaded, as she bowed her head.

"Fine. So long as you get back to your desk and begin drawing what you're supposed to. And if I catch another picture of that woman, or a false chart, I'll not only give Asuna the beating of her life, I'll start killing villagers as well." Arlong warned, as he tossed me off to the side.

As I landed in a heap, I had to bite my lip once more to keep from hissing as I landed on my bad arm. The cuts that rested there were only hours old, and still very much hidden from Arlong and Nami. When I'm able to return to my room, I know I'll have to change the bandages again. Already I could feel the blood beginning to seep into the formerly clean cloth.

The scars these cuts are going to form won't be pretty, but I'll be satisfied in having them. After all, they're my punishment for being unable to protect those that I love…

"Asuna!" I heard Nami call in worry, as I coughed a few times. Sitting up slowly, I watched as Nami ran to my side and dropped to her knees. Ignoring the sound of disgust that came from Arlong's direction, I let Nami check me over. I didn't need to see the tears welling up in her eyes to know that my skin was already turning black and blue.

"Those charts had better be ready by sun up Nami. Same goes for those weapons I ordered you to make Asuna. Fifty strikes for each task if it's not done by then." Arlong warned, as he turned to leave us in the room that served as Nami's personal hell hole.

Soon as the door shut behind him, Nami let the tears that had been shining in her eyes run free. Reaching over, I gently placed a hand over her orange colored locks. When the sobs began, I pulled her close enough so that she could place her head on my uninjured shoulder. As she cried softly, I glanced around Nami's room as I waited for her to calm down.

Looking over by the far wall where the single window sat, I spied Nami's desk sitting off to the side of it. Poor thing looked to be about as beat up as I did. It was actually hard to believe that just a few short months ago, it had looked polished and brand new. A look that had ebbed away when Nami and I tried to resist Arlong's orders, and ended up being punished along with us when we disobeyed.

To the left of the desk sat an uncountable amount of blank paper in various stacks. That was just how many charts Arlong had wanted Nami to make for him. A life times worth if I didn't know any better. On the right of that beat up desk sat a much smaller, single stack of papers that had carefully applied ink to them. The few charts Nami had been forced to make since our captivity here began.

Other than that, there wasn't much to the room. Save the small pot of ink and the pen that sat on top of the desk of course. And the mat by the door that served as a bed. A bed that not even an animal would use. The same went for my room, except for the desk. Instead of that, my room held a forge.

"I'm so sorry Asuna. If I'd drawn those charts, he wouldn't have hurt you." Nami whimpered out, as I brought my attention back to her. "And why did you have to make that stupid deal with him!? I'm the one who disobeyed him, I should be the one to be punished…"

"Don't worry about it Nami. Besides, I'm tougher than I look. A little beating up hasn't killed me yet has it? And how could I stand back and let him beat you up? What kind of big sister would I be if I did?" I ask her, trying to cheer her up a bit. A mission I sadly knew would fail. After all, what exactly is there to cheer her up about? Our destroyed childhood, our broken dreams? Our torn village, home, and family?

The fact that we are alive is all we have now. The pain I feel, is nothing but a testament to that.

"But what if-" Nami began, as I gently cut her off.

"No buts… We're going to make it through this. No matter what. Remember what Bellemere use to tell us when things got rough?" I asked, as Nami sniffed.

"To continue on living, so good things can come our way…" she whispered, as I gave her a light squeeze with my good arm.

"Good… Don't forget those words. Well get the island back from Arlong, and our freedom one day. All we need to do is make it through each day that comes our way. After that, Nojiko would be free to run the biggest tangerine orchard in Cocoyoshi Village. And you would finally be free to travel the seas and draw the first ever map of the world…" I encouraged, as Nami turned a watery smile up at me.

"And you'll be able to become the most renowned sword smith!" she reminded me, as I returned her smile with one of my own.

"Yeah… I'll learn all the secrets to forging the blade…" I said, looking away so that Nami wouldn't see the lie I was feeding her. I meant what I said about Nojiko and Nami following their dreams once Arlong is forever gone from the island. As for my own dream…

I knew deep in my heart that it would forever remain broken.

….…

 _Eight Years Later…_

Letting out a horrid curse, I yanked my hand back from the blade I had been polishing as the ship I was currently hitching a ride on began rocking violently from side to side. Casting a very irritated look up towards the deck where I could hear shouting, gun and cannon fire, I then glanced down at the finger the damn blade had nicked.

Thankfully the wound was no worse than a paper cut.

Sticking the sore digit into my mouth, I carefully put the blade down beside the barrel I had turned into a seat, and moved to open the hatch of the room I had been given during the duration of my trip with these scum bag pirates.

In order to get to the next island to meet my sister without having to wait about another week at the last island I was on, I had traded passage on the pirate ship of Iron-Club Alvida with my skills as a black smith. Part of our agreement was to leave me out of any sort of conflict they may get themselves into, and to give me a bit of warning should they decide to raid a ship so I would know to be more careful around my very dangerous tools, and the weapons themselves.

Clearly this bit of info was lost to the wind. Then again, I guess I should have expected this kind of shit. I am dealing with pirates after all.

Popping the hatch open just a crack, I watched as the pirates swarmed about the deck. Some were reloading the cannons, while others moved back and forth between the two ships, hauling stolen supplies and any valuables they took from the other ship's passengers.

Even poor Colby was made to go on the other ship to bring loot back.

Colby was the spineless cabin boy of the ship who was forced to join the crew after he climbed into the wrong boat to go fishing for his supper. By the time he realized he was on a pirate's boat, it was already too late for him to run. According to his story any way. Didn't take much for me to get that bit of info out of him either. All I had to do was share my food and warm space in my room for him to sleep to get the kid talking.

And pleading for me to jump ship when I got the chance. All in all, I could tell that Colby was a good kid at heart, and wasn't exactly cut out to be a pirate. In fact, I was considering offering to smuggle him off the ship when I reached the next island and hauled these pirates in for their bounties.

I may not be able to break the chains held over me by a pirate, but I could at least help to break Colby's. They were the ones who forced him to work in exchange for his life in the first place.

Sighing heavily, I closed the hatch long enough to put my things into my back pack, then check the dagger I had in each of my knee high boots before I opened it again, grabbed my long black trench coat, shrugged it on followed by my bag, and climbed out. Shutting the trap door behind me, I stood up in time to see Alvida heading over to the captured ship herself. Probably to oversee the looting of the people still on board her prize.

Waiting until she went into the main part of the ship, I then made my own way over as well. Instead of heading towards the main part of the ship like Alvida, I made a detour towards the kitchen. It was where Colby normally went to avoid the conflict the crew caused. At the end of each raid though, he'd normally be found by other members of the crew and dragged back to his personal hell hole.

I know my original plan was to wait until the next island, but if I could swing smuggling both Colby and myself onto this passenger ship a mist the chaos, then I'll forego waiting around. The plan for the bounties on the pirates would be a bust that way, but I could easily make up for that in the weapons I've made during my stay with them.

It didn't take me very long before I found the kitchen, and Colby peering into it from the hall way.

"I sure hope nobody's in here." I heard him say, as he tip toed into the room. Following suit, I paused in the door way as Colby made his way towards what looked to be a really big barrel. Looked like it had gotten loose during the raid, and made quite the mess too.

"I wonder what could be inside such a big barrel?" I heard Colby ask no one in particular.

"Probably beer." I answered him, as Colby nodded in agreement to my statement.

"Yeah, probably…" He said, pausing a second later once he realized he had answered someone. Letting out a noise only a little girl would make as he jumped about as high as a cat would in fright, he whirled around in a panic to see who had spoken to him.

Once Colby saw that it was just me, he put a hand over his racing heart.

"Oh, Asuna it's just you." He said, trying to regain his breath. Probably his soul too. "Please don't sneak up on me like that… And what on earth are you doing on this ship. If Lady Alvida sees that you left your room, she'll annul your agreement and make you join for good!" he freaked out, when he got his bearings once more.

Waving his concerns off, I moved further into the room with him.

"If you'd pay more attention to your surroundings, you'd have known I'd been standing there for a few moments. And as far as Alvida goes, I'd turn her head over to the bounty hunters before she could get that iron club of hers over her fat head." I remarked, as Colby went pale.

"Shhh!" He shushed harshly. "She can hear those words from a mile away you know!" He warned, as I turned a narrow stare his way. "Sorry…" He muttered a moment later, as he looked down at his feet sheepishly.

"Colby, why haven't you tried to get the hell off Alvida's ship? Most of the guys on it are morons, and are easily given the slip if you catch the right opportunity." I asked him, as Colby looked away from me.

"I don't know… I don't really have anywhere else to go mostly. And my dream of joining up with the marines is ruined thanks to me being stuck on this stupid pirate crew." He muttered, completely discouraged.

"Not if you get out of here." I told him, as Colby went bug eyed.

"I can't! You haven't seen just how good these guys are at finding and catching me! Not to mention if Alvida catches me trying to leave, she'll kill me with that famous iron club of hers!" He began freaking out again.

Knowing that if he continued to be loud, someone would come to investigate, I walked over to Colby and knocked him upside the head one good time. Not too hard, mind you, I don't want to kill off the brain cells I know he's got buried in there somewhere.

"Ouch! Why did you hit me?" he asked me, as I closed my eyes and prayed for patience.

"Because I felt like it." I answered him.

Colby opened his mouth to retort, but said nothing as his stomach decided to do the talking for him. With his face turning scarlet, Colby put his hands over his belly, like he was trying to hide it from view. Raising an eye brow at his antics, I decided to give the boy some peace of mind by looking back at the barrel that had been in question upon our arrival.

"They stole your breakfast and your lunch again didn't they?" I asked, knowing Colby would know that I was referring to the pirates who torment him daily.

"Uh-huh." He answered, still far too embarrassed to speak just yet.

"Alright then…" I said, as I moved towards the huge barrel.  
"Hey, what are you doing Asuna?" Colby asked, as I sat the barrel upright. Reaching into my right boot, I pulled out the dagger I had hidden there before I left my room back on Alvida's ship.

"Seeing what's inside this barrel. You are hungry, aren't you?" I asked, as Colby's stomach answered for him once again. He still opened his mouth to voice his objections once more, but stopped once more when three pirates from Alvida's crew walked in.

"Well, well, if it isn't our favorite coward." the chubbiest of the trio said, as he and a skinny tall guy, and a guy with a tattoo over his right eye began crowding around Colby.

"And what's this? Decide to hide in here with our pretty passenger while all the action was going on? She's must be an easy catch if she decided to come in here with a loser like you." the tall, skinny guys said.

At hearing this, I couldn't help but throw an intense glare at the guy. Luckily for him, he had his focus on Colby, who had sensed the immediate danger the three posed to him, and made a show of putting the huge barrel between himself and the three. Making me have to step back in the process.

"Oh, not at all! We were just hauling this big barrel of beer over to you guys!" Colby improvised on the spot, using my suggestion from earlier to help cover his tracks.

"That's great. We were just startin' to get thirsty." the chubby guy said, as Colby finally got to make the argument I knew he was going to make before the three showed up when I was going to open the barrel myself.

"You can't!" he squeaked. "Lady Alvida will kill us if she found out!"

"She won't find out if you keep your trap shut, right boy?" the guy with the tattoo finally spoke up, as Colby nodded his head once in defeat.

 _Now what can a girl do to get a kid to grow a back bone_? I wondered to myself, as the tattoo guy looked my way next.

"You won't tell either, will you baby?" he began, trying to sweat talk me. But whatever sweet talk he had lined up died in his throat when he caught the resting murder face I was trying to convey into my expression.

"Well now, she plays hard to get doesn't she?" the tall skinny guy said, too stupid to know when to back off.

"Well fix her later, right now, let's get some of this beer." the chubby guys said, as he moved closer to the barrel. "Stand back fellas, I'll open this the old fashioned way."

Pulling a fist back, I rolled my eyes as the guy _psyched_ himself up to punch the top of the barrel in. However, before he could get the chance, this kid in a straw hat bursts out from the barrel, inadvertently knocking the chubby guy out in the process.

"What the hell…" I heard myself mutter, as I stared in shock at the boy who just popped out of the barrel. It was all I could do at the moment, and the same went for Colby and the other two.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppttttttt Sssssssoooooooo Greeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttt!" (I slept so great.) The kid shouted, drawing each word out as he said them, stretching as he did so. When he was done with his stretch, he finally looked down at the guy he just knocked out.

"Huh, whose this guy?" He asked in a very innocent manner, despite what he was just did. When he didn't get an answer, he then looked up at the chubby guy's buddies.

"Who the hell are you guys?" the kid asks, as the two guys went from being shocked to pissed off.

"WHO THE HELL ARE _YOU!?_ " they demanded, as the straw hat kid ignored their repeated question.

"Your friend's gonna catch a cold sleeping on the floor like that, you know." he simply told them, as he climbed out of the barrel.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KNOCKED HIM OUT!" the two shouted again, as they both pulled out the swords they had carried in on their hips. Holding one out in front of the boy's nose, the kid took one look a the blade before looking at it's owner.

I took this as a sign to get a better grip on my dagger as I pushed my own shock to the side. If they made a move at that range to take the kids head off, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to move fast enough to intercept it.

"Hold it!" The tattoo guy ordered, "Are you really messing with us when you know good and well that we're pirates? Huh?" he demanded, as he stabbed his sword in the straw hat's direction in emphasis.

Ignoring him completely, the straw hat kid turned and walked right over to Colby.

"Hey, I'm starving. You got any food?" he asked, as Colby only gave him that shocked look he still had on his face when the kid first made his grand entrance. That look didn't last much longer after that though, seeing as the two pirates only got more pissed at the boy, and tried to cut him down. This got Colby to freak out and change his facial expression before it got stuck.

Seeing how scrawny the straw hat kid was, I knew I would need to step in before the blow made contact. If those pirates did make contact, it would only go right through that kid and hit Colby. Possibly killing him.

 _I can't let anyone else die at the hands of a pirate_. I desperately thought, as I made to move forward. Only to find that I didn't need to do a damn thing, seeing as the straw hat kid simply turned around and _broke_ the two blades with his bare hands.

For the second time that day, I found myself in a state of shock.

With a clang, the two blade pieces that had been broken off found a purchase in the wooden roof above us. At the noise, Colby finally looked up from where he had covered his eyes in fright. Moving towards him, I knelt down.

"You alright Colby?" I asked him, as he nodded his head once in the affirmative.

Glad he was alright, I stood back to my full height as I looked over at the straw hat boy and the two pirates who now sat on their asses. Scared for once in their lives.

 _Just who is this guy?_ I wondered, as the kid in question gave the two pirates a confused look.

"What the heck is wrong with you two all of a sudden?" He asked, as the sniveling pirates began looking like they wanted to cry.

"W-Who a-are yo-ou?' the skinny guy stuttered out, as the straw hat kid pointed his thumb at himself.

"Hm… Oh me? Hi, I'm Monkey D. Luffy." He said, introducing himself with a very monkey like smile.

The two pirates on the ground didn't think so though, for as soon as they saw this, they were on their feet, grabbed their sleeping friend by one arm each before dragging him out of the room like the devil was on their heels.

After they were gone, Colby looked up from where he was on his hands and knees as he watched the door the three had left through.

"What just happened?" he asked no one in particular.

"Beats me." the straw hat kid, now known as Luffy remarked, as he too watched the door.

"I don't care… But watching them get their asses handed to them sure made me feel nice." I added, as my words struck a fearful cord within Colby.

"Oh no, you've gotta run! You too Asuna!" Colby began freaking. "If they come back here with the others, you guys are dead!"

"I don't care about any of that, I'm hungry." Luffy simply stated, as Colby choked on air.

"How can you just blow this off like that? There's hundred of them up on deck! They love killing anything that pisses them off!" he freaked, as he looked over at me for support. "Come on, Asuna, back me up here! You know what I'm saying." he pleaded, as I glanced his way.

"I've said it to you once already Colby, they're all morons. So much so that my sister could rob them in her sleep if she wanted." I told him, as Colby gave me a blank look.

 _Oops… Sorry, Nami…_ I mentally apologized for letting that slip. Since we made that deal with Arlong to buy back our island eight years ago, Nami has become a pirate thief. I didn't mention her name though, so I guess she can forgive me as long as she is none the wiser.

"Wait, you have a sister, and she's a pirate thief." Colby repeated, as I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah… Pretty much. I don't exactly hate pirates like she does, but most of them do suck." I admitted, as movement caught my eye. Looking up, I saw Luffy begin making his way towards one of the doors that had remained closed during our little exchange with the three pirates. Seeing it too, Colby decided it was a good idea to latch on to Luffy's arm.

"No, you can't go out there! You'll be killed!" Colby pleaded, not even looking to see that Luffy was passing the exit by for that door I had noticed him heading towards.

No matter how much Colby pleaded or pulled against Luffy, the kid would not be swayed away from that door. Wondering where Colby was being dragged off to, I decided to follow them. When Luffy made it to the doors, he pushed it open, and dragged Colby inside with him. With Colby not paying attention, he easily got smacked in the head by the door.

Stepping forward, I pushed the door off the poor kid, and grabbed him by the back of the shirt to keep him from falling over. Moving into the room as well, I closed the door behind me.

Once the three of us were inside, Luffy gave a triumphant shout as he jumped down the stairs located inside the pantry if the crates of food were anything to go by, and tore off the top of one of them.

"Cool! Apples!" he declared, as I sat down on the very top step.

Back behind me, Colby opened the door to peer out to make sure no one had seen us enter the room before shutting it once more.

"No one saw us, so I guess we'll be safe in here for now." He said, as he moved to sit on the bottom step closer to where Luffy was currently stuffing his face. Core and all would you believe it.

"Did all of that really just happen?" Colby asked me, as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Whatever that was, it doesn't really matter now. If anything, I think we all should just stay down here for the time being. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and Alvida and her crew will leave us behind. You'd be able to start over if that's the case." I told him, as Colby looked uncertain.

"We could… But what about the people on this ship? Won't they know we snuck on board or something?" Colby pointed out, as I thought it over.

"We could tell them that we were prisoners on Alvida's ship and snuck down here to hide. Or that we were passengers who got separated and hid down here to stay safe." I suggested, as I turned to look in a crate that sat close to me. Seeing that it was full of tangerines, I took one from the pile. Pulling a dagger from my boot, I began to peel it. "Just take your pick, stick to it, and don't forget it when asked. I know it's lying, but its either that or you get jailed, or stuck back on Alvida's ship."

Now that the tangerine was peeled, I handed half over to Colby.

"What ever it is you decide you want to do, you might want to decide soon." I warned him. "Who knows how long we'll be here before we are discovered."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Colby agreed, as he took a bite of tangerine.

"Well, that said, I think you should go and introduce yourself and thank Monkey D. Luffy down there. He did save your life after all." I said, nudging Colby in the leg with my own.

Giving me a small smile, Colby got to his feet and took his tangerine half with him towards Luffy. Taking a bite of my own half, I watched as the two boys interacted.

"Hey, you're name's Luffy right? I'm Colby… It was pretty neat what you did with that barrel back there… And thanks for stopping those two guys too…" Colby began, as Luffy gave him an apple filled smile.

"No problem… These apples are really tasty!" Luffy exclaimed, as he turned back to eating. "Hey, do you know if we're on a pirate ship?" he asked then, chewed up apple flying all over the place.

"No… We're actually on a passenger ship that's being raided by a pirate ship." Colby explained, as he sat down next to Luffy. "Pirates under the command of Lady Alvida."

"Meh… Who cares anyway…" Luffy answered, eating apple after apple faster than humanly possible. Honestly, how the hell was this kid not choking by now?

 _Okay, it's official… Monkey D. Luffy you are one strange character…_ I thought to myself, as I finished off my tangerine half. Using the end of the long black coat I currently wore to wipe the citrus juice from my dagger before sheathing it in my boot once more.

"All I want to know is if there are any boats on board." Luffy said a moment later, as I thought it over.

"There should be. The pirates are still on deck, so none of the passengers are able to get to them." I answered, as I held up a hand when the straw hat kid looked my way. "I'm Asuna by the way."

Soon as the words left my mouth, I felt Luffy's gaze stay locked on mine. I don't know what he was looking for, but his gaze was intense. Whatever it was, I guess he found it because he looked away after a few moments. Looking back at the apples before him, Luffy began munching away again.

"Hey Asuna, are you a pirate?" Luffy asked, as I scoffed at the very idea.

"Look kid, I may not exactly hate pirates, but I'm not one. Nor do I ever intend to be one. Why do you ask anyway? You a pirate yourself?" I asked him, not quite liking where this conversation was now going. No offense, but I need to stay out of the pirate world. Not only am I trapped by one, metaphorically speaking, but my eyes are a little too much like anothers…

Not wanting to go down that road, I put the thought from my mind. Bellemere's last words about _that_ wasn't going to help me with my current situation at home anyway. Besides, if Arlong found out…

Shutting my mind down for a second time, I forced myself to focus on the two before me. Luffy was currently telling Colby how his previous boat got sucked up into the whirlpool we passed earlier. Hence why Luffy was in that barrel to start with. A crazy idea, but the best he could do in a pinch. With the barrel being mainly wood, and as long as he doesn't get sucked in the whirlpool too far, he would eventually have floated back to the surface. Monkey D. Luffy was apparently turning out to be a smart stupid person as Nojiko, Nami, and I used to say about people as kids.

"So what about you Colby? Are you one of the pirates or one of the passengers?" Luffy asked, skipping my question and directing it towards Colby. At this question, Colby got somber. Just like that night I asked him how he wound up on Alvida's crew. So, Colby told him the story I was told. At the end of it, Luffy had stopped eating, and just kept looking over his shoulder at Colby while he paid attention.

"You're pretty dumb, you know that?" Luffy asked, as Colby dropped his chin to his chest.

"Geez, you're brutally honest aren't you." Colby said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"If you hate it, then just leave." Luffy told him, as I chuckled a bit.

"I've been telling him that in the week I've been a passenger on Alvida's ship." I stated, as Colby began shaking his head violently from side to side.

"No way! I can't leave, no way! Just the thought of Alvida finding me scares me so bad I feel sick!" Colby protested, as Luffy let out a laugh.

"Wow, you're a moron and a coward! I hate people like you!" he said, as I felt one of my eye brows go up. Colby had a point when he said Luffy was brutally honest. Blunt too.

Looking over at Colby to see how he was handling such a comment, I gave pause at the look of self loathing he had on his face.

"Yeah, you're right… I really am a coward… If I had the courage like you to float freely in a barrel, I could put these pirates behind me. I do have my own dreams, and I really want to follow them." Colby said thoughtful, as he then looked back over at Luffy. A curious look in his eyes.

"So what first set you off to sea, Luffy?" he asked, as Luffy got that goofy grin of his again.

"Well. I'm going to be King of the Pirates."

At this, Colby shot to his feet in a near dead faint. While I nearly fell off my seat. When Luffy had avoided answering my question earlier, I had him figured for a pirate, but never in a million years would I have expected him to say something like that!

"The _king_?" Colby squeaked, a cold sweat breaking out over his whole body. " _Are you serious_?"

"Yep." Luffy replied like it was nothing.

"But that means you're a pirate."

"Yep."

"You're crew?"

"Don't have one yet. If Asuna had answered my question from earlier differently, I would have asked her to be my first crew member. But she didn't look like she wants to at the moment, so I'll ask her again later." Luffy answered, as I grabbed another tangerine from beside me to throw at Luffy's head.

Moving his head out of the way, I was forced to watch as Luffy caught it before stuffing it peeling and all into his mouth. Sending a small glare in Luffy's direction, I decided to see just what he knows about the concept he was speaking of.

"You do realize that to be the Pirate King, you need to find the _One Piece_ , right? The greatest treasure once held by Gold D. Roger, and has been sought after for the last _twenty years_ by pirates since his execution by the World Government." I stated, as Luffy gave me that grin of his once more.

"Yeah, that's the one!" he exclaimed as Colby found himself once again.

"No way! It's Impossible! There's no way someone like you could find it _this_ far into the pirate era! There's just too many pirates out there who are meaner and fatter and-" Colby ranted, until Luffy planted his fist into Colby's head. Much like I had earlier.

"OW!" Colby cried, as he put his hands over his head. "Why did you hit me?" He wined as Luffy crossed his arms over his chest.

"'Cause I felt like it." He said, using the same answer I had earlier.

After giving it a moment for the slight pain to recede, Colby simply rubbed the now sore spot before getting back on his feet.

"It's not like it matters anyway. My shipmates slap me around on a regular basis… Asuna's pretty much the only one who only does it when I need to calm down." he said, as Luffy ignored him. He had already said what was on his mind on the subject after all… If Colby would just man up and leave, he wouldn't have to worry about it. And if he joins the marines and gets stronger, then he'd be able to take on those who would bat him around.

Placing a hand over his straw hat, Luffy got a far away look on his face.

"Its not about if I can do it, it's because I want to." Luffy told him, as he lifted the straw hat off his head to hold it in front of him. "I decided a long time ago that I was going to be _King of the Pirates_. If I end up dying trying to reach that goal, then I'll die. Simple as that."

The look that came into Luffy's eyes as he said that startled me. It had been years since I last saw anyone with that kind of determination in their eyes. The last time was right before Bellemere was murdered by Arlong. In her eyes I could see the determination for us to survive Arlong's arrival and conquering of our island.

Deep in my heart, I knew that I should be troubled by this look, but instead I felt a need to learn where this determination comes from. While he and Colby had been talking and I was lost in my thoughts, I had briefly over heard Luffy mention how he had ended up in that barrel. Maybe, if Luffy didn't give a rat's ass, I'll ask him if Colby and I can tag along to the next island. On the next island, Colby would be able to join the marines like he's always dreamed of, and I would have enough time to decide if I want to travel further with Monkey D. Luffy. I meant what I said about not becoming a pirate though, that's not going to change.

"Now that my belly is full, I'm gonna go find a new boat. Maybe they'll give me one if I ask nicely enough." Luffy continued, putting his hat back where it belonged before making his way passed me up the steps I still sat on.

Watching as he passed, once he was out of my line of sight, I looked back at the awed look on Colby's face. Apparently I hadn't been the only one to have a chord struck within me.

"I guess I never thought of it that way…" Colby spoke, once he was able to find his voice. "If I put my mind to it, and was willing to risk my life… Would I be able to do something big like that?" he asked, as Luffy paused at the door way to look back.

"Like what?" He asked, as Colby turned to face Luffy and I.

"Do you think I could join the marines?" He asked Luffy, as I felt a small smile tug at my lips. The whole two weeks I'd been on Alvida's ship and let Colby stay in my room, I can't tell you how many times Colby had talked about the marines and his dreams of joining him. But he's yet to outright ask such a thing. Of course I believed he would be able to, but I've made no mention of it. If Colby wants to find the courage to go and join the marines and put Alvida behind him, he needed to find the strength and courage to do that on his own.

Luffy's words about his own dream of wanting to become the king of the pirates, as outlandish as it sounds; must have given Colby the courage he needed to ask that particular question.

"Marines?" Luffy echoed, posing it as a question, as Colby held up his hands with the passion that was filling him about his dream.

"Yes! Catching bad guys is the only thing I've wanted to do since I was a kid! It's been my dream since I was little!" Colby all but shouted, his voice gradually going back to his normal volume towards the end. "So do you think I can do it…?" He asked gently at the end.

"How should I know that?" Luffy asked him, a giggle in his voice.

Even though Luffy's words weren't exactly meant to encourage, that's just what it did as Colby became excited once more.

"Then I'm gonna do it!" He shouted, as he began making his way towards the door as well. Seeing as it looked like the two boys were about ready to leave, I got to my own feet as well. I still had to see if Luffy was my and Colby's ticket out of the mess Alvida had put us in.

"I'm not gonna be stuck living as a cabin boy for the rest of my life! I'm gonna break out and turn right back around to catch Alvida myself!" Colby continued to shout, but before he could take the first step up the stairs, the ceiling above us was busted down by a familiar iron club. Snatching Colby up by the back of his shirt, I hauled him up to where Luffy was standing by the door. When the dust and debris finally settled, the three of us came face to face with a very pissed off pirate lady.

" _Who_ are you planning on catching, Colby?" Alvida spat, as she glared daggers as Luffy and I. "Is this twig and that girl gonna help you?" she demanded, as Colby quivered on the spot. All of his courage and determination having vanished the moment the fat old hag showed up.

"Well? Answer me!" she shouted, as Colby opened his mouth to answer, but all that would come out were whimpers.

Before Luffy or I could do or say anything, I get this cold chill down my spine. Stepping to the side, I managed to avoid being turned into a pin cushion by a few sabers that had suddenly appeared through the wall. Luffy on the other hand just had to stay perfectly still. They stuck out of the wall all around his tall frame. When they didn't look like they would be moved any time soon, Luffy and I turned our attention back to Alvida.

Alvida's face turned smug as she examined Luffy from head to toe.

"Hmp… I'm guessing you're _not_ Zoro the Pirate Hunter." she stated, as Luffy tilted his head to the side in a curious manner. Ignoring his look, Alvida then turned her head towards me.

"Obviously you're not Zoro either, but I know you sometimes haul pirates in for their bounties Asuna… But it looks like your bounty hunting days are done now that you've left that room I was so kind as to let you rent with your work as a black smith and meddled in my business. I would find it quite useful to have someone of your skill as the smith for my ship." she said, as I narrowed my eyes in her direction.

"Sorry, but no chance of that happening." I told her straight up, as Alvida's smug look grew a little wider.

"Of course you will, want to know why?" she asked me, before turning a wild look in Colby's direction. "Colby!" she shouted, causing the poor kid to jump in fright.

"Y-yes?" he asked, his voice trembling horribly.

"Who is the most beautiful in all the seas?" she asked him, as Colby began scratching his head in nervousness. Like he always did when Alvida called him out.

"I-uh… Give me a sec… I know this…" he panicked, as Alvida's smug smile began to look like an ugly grimace the longer she held it on her face.

All the while, Luffy just holds up a hand, points in Alvida's direction as he looks over at Colby.

"Hey Colby, whose the fat lady?" He straight up asks, as Colby's, Alvida's and her crew's jaws all drop to the floor in dead shock.

It was at this very moment that I heard and felt something I hadn't in the past eight years. To be honest, I didn't know if it was how the crew looked like they could piss their pants at any moment; or if it was the outraged look Alvida had on her face the moment Luffy's words sunk in. Hell, it could have been the half fear of Alvida, and half hero worship for Luffy that was in Colby's expression that triggered the laughing fit that had me doubled over.

"Okay, it's official Luffy…" I said, gasping for breath… "You're absolutely _insane!_ "

Taking a deep breath, I glanced back at Alvida. Apparently my laughter was fuel on the fire, for she looked a little more pissed than when my fit had begun. Seeing this, I couldn't help one last snicker.

Which ended up being just enough to make Alvida's boiling anger erupt as she threw her club up over her head in fury.

" _YOU RATS_!" She shouted, as she brought the club down where Luffy and I were standing. Dodging out of the way, Luffy and I both managed to land next to Colby.

"Hey Asuna, can you jump up there?" he asked in a whisper. Nodding my head once as a yes, Luffy then turned a grin to Colby. "Let's get out of here."

That was apparently Colby's cue to hand on to Luffy as he jumped up through the hole Alvida had created to get to us. Following after them, I used the elevated part of the pantry that hadn't been destroyed to jump up towards the hole in the floor. Using the quick reflexes I'd built up over the last few years, I managed to haul myself up on the deck before any of the pirates could try and cut me back down to where Alvida was.

Getting to my feet, I was just in time to see Luffy land on his feet with Colby next to him. Poor kid hadn't been expecting Luffy to jump so high, and was clearly in shock for about the hundredth time for today. Like the other times, he was quick about getting over it the moment danger came into play. Jumping back, Colby gave Luffy enough room to begin fighting.

Reaching into my boots, I pulled out my daggers got ready to jump in at a moments notice. For a brawler, Luffy was pretty good at using his fists as his only weapon against the pirates wielding swords. If anything, I think that if I were to jump in right at this moment, I'd only get in his way.

He was pretty strong and nimble for a scrawny kid with what appeared to be no muscle mass what so ever.

As I was about to consider putting my daggers back in my boots and watching the rest of the fight on the side lines with Colby, I noticed as the small group of pirates Luffy were fighting back him up towards the upper part of the passenger ship we were still on. Catching the glint of light off of metal, I spotted the trap for what it was.

Having his back turned, and his mind focusing on the pirates in front of him, I knew that Luffy hadn't seen the guy yet.

Getting a good grip on my daggers, I rushed forward. Crossing them over one another, I managed to get into place right at the last second. The clashing of steel on steel alerting Luffy to what was going on behind him.

My arms shook from the force of holding the pirate I had stopped back, but I managed it. Daggers weren't really my specialty when it comes to fighting with blades, but I didn't have a sword on me at the moment. Nor would I for a long time to come either…

Putting that aside, I made a right feint with my foot. Thinking I was taking a step, the pirate tried to knock my weight off what he thought was my firmly planted foot. Only to end up giving me a something to launch my foot off of as I kicked him in the side, making him falter just enough to knock him away from me with my daggers.

"It's not fair to attack from behind!" Luffy shouted at him, as he reached passed me to grab the pirate I had just unbalanced by the head, and throwing him at his buddies. As he knocked them over, Luffy sent a greatful grin my way.

"Thanks a bunch Asuna!" he said, giving me a thumbs up. Nodding at him, I moved to stand next to him as the pirates got on their feet once more.

Readjusting the grip on my daggers, I got ready for the next round with the idiots, but that plan was tossed to the winds when Luffy grabs me by the wrist, and begins running for the other side of the ship.

"Luffy! What the hell are you doing!?" I demanded of him.

"You'll see, just run!" he shouted, not slowing down in the slightest.

As we went to pass the mast in the center of the ship, Luffy reaches out one arm to grab on as he keeps running past. When he did this, I was thinking that he was going to use the mast to turn in a circle to get behind the pirates. So I maneuvered my body to do the same. Only as I went around the mast, I noticed that Luffy had kept going straight, and that his arm was stretching out _way_ past what any limb was meant to.

Seeing this, I held the same look as everyone else did this time. The pirates chasing us were even so shocked by what they were seeing that they payed my nearness to them no mind. One of them even looked my way to ask if Luffy was even human before looking between Luffy's hand that was still holding onto the mast, and the rest of his body that was still heading towards the front of the ship…

Once he had gone quite a distance, Luffy stopped and turned a not so friendly smirk towards the pirates.

"Got ya!" he said, before he let himself come flying back towards his hand. As he did so, the momentum allowed him to knock all the pirates down once more. " _GUM-GUM ROCKET!_ " He shouted as he went.

As he past the mast, I noticed that his limb had retracted back to it's original shape and position as if it'd never happened. Almost like… _Rubber_ …

Moving back around the mast itself, I looked at where Luffy's hand had held on. The spot his hand was in looked a little more worn than the rest of the wood, but other than that there wasn't any damage. Blinking from that spot to Luffy and back a few times, I shook my head to clear my thoughts. The only explanation I could think of as to how Luffy was able to do such a thing, was that he had eaten a devil fruit.

According to legend, devil fruits come from the Grand Line. The world's most violent sea that many people go in, and no one ever comes out. The previous pirate kind is said to have hidden the One Piece on an island hidden within the Grand Line's deepest depths.

Was Luffy from the Grand Line? If not, then he must have stolen the devil fruit from some one? And if that wasn't the case, then he had to have eaten it without knowing what it was… And all of that was _if_ this really was from the result of a devil fruit.

Looking back towards Colby to see what his reaction to all of this was, I saw Alvida trying to climb up from the hold behind him. Not wanting him to get hit from behind by that iron club of hers, I ran towards them. Thankfully, Alvida was in shock too, so I was able to make it past her without a problem.

Not that it would be happening again, seeing as my movement was enough to help her snap out of it a moment later. Same thing went for Colby, seeing as he was then able to ask the one question I was sure was burning in all of our minds at the moment.

"Luffy… What are you?" Colby asked, as Luffy turned a care free smile in our direction.

"Oh, that…" Luffy began, as he reached up to hook a finger in the right side of his mouth, and pulling it far from his face. "I'm a rubber man." he answered, as I felt Alvida move to stand behind Colby and I.

Colby must have felt it too, for he freaked out and ran to hide behind Luffy, while I simply turned to look over my shoulder. She was still just as livid as she was back below deck, but this time she was more wary of Luffy. Keeping an eye on her, I turned around so that she wouldn't be at my back anymore, and moved to stand on the other side of Colby. That way if Alvida attacked, I could just yank the poor kid out of the way. After all this excitement today, Colby looked like he was ready to pass out. If that happened, I wanted to prevent him having an untimely death.  
"Rubber, huh…" Alvida said, as she kept her glare fixed on Luffy. "So you've eaten of the devil fruits, haven't you?" she asked him, speaking the very thing I was wondering myself.

"Yeah." Luffy answered, as he let his cheek go. "I ate the Gum-Gum fruit when I was little."

"Uh-huh…" Alvida said, as she moved her club to sit on her shoulder. "I had heard rumors of their existence, but hadn't seen any evidence of it until today. Not to mention how skilled you are at fighting. More so than the average deck swabber. I know you're not the Pirate Hunter, but are you a bounty hunter nonetheless?" she asked, as Luffy shook his head.

"No, I'm a pirate." He answered, as Alvida's expression became disbelieving.

" _A pirate_!? All by yourself at sea?" she questioned him, as Luffy's smile never changed.

"Yeah… I don't have a crew yet, but I'll find them. I've got one person lined up but no luck yet. After her, I'll find about… Nine or ten more guys…" Luffy figured up, as he held up both hands, alternating between holding up nine and ten fingers. "Might not be until tomorrow, or next week, or whatever…"

Letting out a laugh, Alvida's expression turned into a dark smile.

"So, then tell me… If we're both pirate, and we aren't of the same flag. Then that would make us enemies, am I right?" she asked, as Luffy's smile grew ever so slightly.

Not liking the sound of it either, I locked my eyes on Alvida, waiting for her to make the first move.

Colby liked it even less than I did, as he grabbed Luffy's arm and gently tugged on it in the direction facing away from Alvida.

"Luffy, Asuna, let's just go." He whispered, as Luffy turned a confused expression his way.

"Hold on, why?" He asked Colby, who got a pleading look on his face.

"You saw how powerful she is with that club… And all of the nasty pirates in these waters, she's the most…" he trailed off, as he took in the serious look Luffy's face had adopted. It was clear as day that Luffy had no intention of backing down. And from what I just said, there was no way in hell Colby was going to be strong enough to stop him.

"Do you really want to give up on your dream now Colby? After we came this far?" I asked him, as he turned to glance at me. By the time this question had left my lips, my face too had become serious. Narrowing my eyes at Colby, I watched as he flinched back somewhat. "If I can't trust you to keep going forward Colby, then I'll just have to hand you over to the marines with these pirates. If you go back on what you said and make my efforts wasted, then the coin your head will bring me will have to do instead… It won't add up, but it'll be all I get…" I told him. I knew that saying this was cruel of me, but Colby can't turn back forever. Some things, you just can't turn back from.

Where we currently stood with Alvida, I knew that to turn back would be a death sentence for Colby…

As my words sunk in, Colby's eyes glazed over. At first, I thought it was fear he was looking at me with, but I was wrong. When his mind brought him back from wherever it had taken him, a bright light of determination began burning in his eyes as he turned a nervous, and angry glare towards his former captain.

"Go on, tell me Colby. What _am I_?" Alvida asked, trying to force Colby to submit like she always did. What she didn't know just yet, was that it wasn't going to work this time.

"You're…" Colby began, as he steeled himself. " _YOU'RE THE UGLIEST THING ON THE SEAS!"_ He shouted, as the deadpan expression Luffy had crated earlier when he had called Alvida fat returned to his former crew members. Luffy on the other hand, was all but rolling across the deck in laughter. Even I couldn't attempt to hide the smirk on my face either.

As for Alvida herself, she became so angry she couldn't move.

"What… Was that?" She asked quietly, only to end up fueling Colby's need to finally speak out.

"I'm leaving to join the marines! Then I'm gonna spend my days training, and when I'm strong enough, I'm gonna come back and catch your fat lousy ass!" Colby shouted at her, as Alvida only became angrier. Holding my daggers as the ready, I prepared to step in. Colby was finally able to say what he wanted to Alvida, yes; but that doesn't mean she won't try to kill him for it. That was something I couldn't let happen. How could Colby join the marines then if I did?

Besides, too many of the marines are corrupt now a days. Like I had noticed early on in this trip, Colby had a good heart. Maybe his heart can change that…

"Do you know just what you're saying to me right now?" Alvida asked Colby, as he kept going.

"Of course I do! If I want to join the marines, then I'm gonna join them and catch dirty pirates like you!" he declaired, as Alvida decided that she had enough.

" _YOU'RE DEAD KID!_ " Alvida shouted, as she raised her club over her head to bring it down to crush Colby.

I took a step forward to try save him, but before I could go beyond that, Luffy had already pushed Colby to the side and taken his place. All Colby and I could do was watch in horror as Alvida's club bashed full force into Luffy's head.

For a full five seconds, I thought that Luffy had been killed. Boy was I happy to be proven wrong when instead of falling over a corpse, Luffy's monkey smile returned full force.

"That won't work…" He said in a sing song voice, as Alvida began to get a bit nervous. "I'm rubber, remember?" he said as he knocked her club off of his head like it was nothing.

For the third time that day, I was shocked into silence as Luffy flung his arm way back. So far that you couldn't see how far his fist had left the ship over the open ocean.

"GUM-GUM PISTOL!"

Then just like that, Luffy's _rubber_ body snaps back, as he launched a full forced punch right into Alvida's over sized gut. The momentum and force behind his was so great, that Alvida went flying off of the passenger ship. Looking all around us, I could see that Alvida's crew still had that look of intense fear, but for once it wasn't of their captain. It was of the tall scrawny kid…

Their fear grew even more though, when Luffy looked their way next.

"Hey you! Go find a boat and give it to Colby. He's gonna go join the marines, and I'll kick your asses if you try to stop him." Luffy warned, as they all moved at once to do as they had been _persuaded_. Practically tripping over each other in their haste.

"Thanks Luffy." Colby thanked him, as Luffy threw him a large grin.

"Eh, it was no big deal." Luffy replied, as he then glanced over at me. "But what are you planning on do now Asuna? You could still round them up if you want." he said, as I thought it over.

I suppose he was right about that. Unfortunatley, that ship would be difficult to sail just on my own. Not to mention one of the crew could also easily escape whatever bonds I put them in and slit my throat while I slept. But would the berries I get for handing them over make that risk worth it?

Before I could make a decision on that, a cannon ball comes out of no where and begins to shake both ships around.

Looking in the direction it came from, we saw a couple of marine ships.

"The marines finally showed up." Colby remarked, as Luffy's grin widened.

"Perfect timing too. All you have to do now is head over and tell them you want to join." Luffy told Colby, as he went back to his regular smile. "But I'm a pirate, so I've gotta go!" with that said, Luffy checked to see if Alvida's crew had a boat in the water yet.

Looking myself, I could see that they were currently lowering one to the sea right now. Seeing that he was safe from the water, Luffy hopped over the railing to land in it. The boat only jostled around a bit under his weight thankfully

"I can't go near them like this! I'll just be arrested with the other pirates!" Colby protested, bringing up a pretty good point in the process.

"He has a point Luffy, and the same goes for me as well. That being said, do you mind if we tag along until the next island. Colby should be able to join at the marine base there, and I can catch up to someone." I suggested, as Luffy shrugged his shoulders.

"That's fine by me, but you might want to hurry up and get in if you're coming." Luffy answered, as I glanced over at Colby.

"It's alright with me." he said, as he gave me a smile of his own. "Besides, you helped me back there. The least I can do is help you out as much as I can."

Giving him a small smile of my own in return, I jumped up to stand on the railing.

"Alright then, let's get out of here. When you land on the boat, hold on to the side. When the two of us hit the boat, we're going to send it down faster." I told Colby, as he nodded his head once in understanding.

Taking a deep, nervous breath, Colby joined me on the railing. I ended up having to grab him by the back of the shirt to help him keep his balance though. After a short count down from three, Colby and I joined Luffy in the boat, and just like I thought, we sent it down to the sea. The poor guys on Alvida's ships let out a yelp of surprise and pain when the rope suddenly tugged against their hands.

I felt a twinge of guilt from this, but it faded quickly. I wonder just how many people each of them have hurt and killed over the years. All they just got was a little rope burn. It would easily heal over time. The mental, physical, and emotional scars they've left on others wont.

Taking my head out of my thoughts, I concentrated on helping Colby get us the hell out of there, while Luffy just held on for dear life. Not that I could blame him. Like Alvida, I had heard of the devil fruits before, and how the holder of such a fruit becomes an enemy of the sea, loosing their ability to swim for the rest of their days. So I guess if the fruits are real, so is that part.

It took some tricky maneuvering on our part, but eventually Colby and I were able to get us out of danger. Luck must have been on our side today, seeing as we even got away without having the marines tail us. Sitting back to take a break from all the excitement of the day, Colby threw his head back to look up at the sky.

"I can't believe we actually managed to get away." he said, as I checked our surroundings one last time before I sat down against the mast, putting my bag beside me. After all of that fighting done with it on had me wanting to be without it for a bit. Still, I'm glad I brought it with me when I left that room back on Alvida's ship. In our quick departure, I wouldn't have been able to go back for it.

"If we had left any later than what we did, we probably wouldn't have." I said, as Colby trembled slightly at the thought. Not that I could blame him. The government doesn't take piracy lightly, even if it's forced. In fact, I wouldn't put it past the marine base we would have been locked up in to have Colby executed right away and quickly just out of mercy.

As for me on the other hand…

The thought had me reaching into my coat pocket to feel the worn letter I had stashed there. It was my single treasure that Arlong didn't know about. Nami, nor Nojiko knew of its existence as well. Only one other back home knows about it, the one Bellemere had entrusted with it right before her death.

I felt the urge to read it once more, but I refrained. I wasn't alone at the moment after all.

Taking a deep breath, I withdrew my hand from my pocket. Instead, I busied myself with checking over my daggers. It was a familiar comfort when I needed to keep myself from thinking about things.

"It sure was fun though." I heard Luffy say, as I glanced up from my daggers. Luffy sat just on the other side of the mast from me, enjoying the sun, the sea, and the wind.

"So Luffy, if you're looking for One Piece, then that means you're headed for the Grand Line, right?" Colby asked him, as Luffy glanced over his shoulder at him. "The people I've asked about it says its a pirate grave yard." Colby finished, as Luffy nodded his head once.

"Yeah, that's why I want a pretty strong crew." Luffy answered, before he looked back at me once more. "About that Asuna, are you sure you don't want to be the first member on my crew?" he asked once more, as I paused what I was doing to look up at him.

From what I saw today, Luffy sure wasn't what I'd expect from a pirate who wants to become the _Pirate King_. Then there was the range of emotions I went through today. Most of the time, since Bellemere's death and Arlong's arrival, I've tried my best to be void of most of the emotions that makes a human, _human_. Not to mention the loyalty Luffy showed towards Colby, and after just becoming friends barely an hour ago.

He even showed the same towards me after I saved him from that pirate trying to kill him from behind. He may have put some distance between the pirates to launch an attack, but he could have easily just left me to face them, yet he didn't. With traits like these, I can't think of any reason why Luffy wanted to be a pirate. I do wish I could find out what that reason was.

 _Monkey D. Luffy, you are one strange pirate indeed…_ I thought, as a deep ache began in my heart. _But I can't join your crew and abandon my home to its fate…_

"I already told you Luffy, I won't become a pirate. I don't hate you or anything, but I have something I need to finish back home. Something that could take years and years." I answered, as Luffy pouted in my direction.

"Aw, come one Asuna! Join my crew!" Luffy whined, as I narrowed my eyes at him. I've seen the look he was giving me many times with Nami, and sometimes we would pull it on Nojiko or Bellemere. It meant that he would persist until I agree to join him. The only way to get out of that, was to make a little agreement. One it looks like I'll have to use here in this situation.

"Look Luffy, I'll think about it. But, if I do think about it and arrive at the conclusion that I _do not_ want to join your crew, will you accept my answer and leave it be?" I asked him.

Looking back at me for a few moments, Luffy crossed his arms.

"I guess that's okay. So long as it's not a _no_." He said, as his face suddenly lights up in his earlier excitement. "Oh, I've got it! You need to reach a certain island to meet up with your sister, right Asuna?" he asked me, as I nodded my head once. I was actually surprised that he remembered me saying that. "Alright it's settled then. I'll help you get to that island, and when we find your sister, I'll get your answer then. That should be enough time for you to decide, right?" he asked me, as I let out a sigh equal parts annoyance and relief.

"It should be." I said, getting the feeling I'm going to regret that when we finally find my sister.

"Okay, awesome… Now that's settled, I need to start thinking about who else I want to join my crew." Luffy said, as he thought it over. "Say, what do you guys know about that pirate hunter guy?" He asked.

" _Pirate hunter guy_?" Colby echoed, as I switched the dagger I was holding out with the other one for cleaning.

"I think he's talking about Roronoa Zoro. Alvida mentioned him back on that passenger ship." I explained, as I continued what I was doing. "I haven't heard anything about him lately though. It's been a few months since I last took in a bounty."

Readjusting his glasses, Colby poured over the things he heard before we put Alvida and her goons behind us.

"I think I heard one of the guys back on Alvida's ship say that he was taken prisoner at a marine base near by." Colby said, as Luffy's face began to show disappointment.

"Oh… So he's a weakling, huh?" Luffy asked, as Colby's hair began to stand on end at what Luffy was implying. Even I couldn't stop the snort that left me at this.

" _Weakling_? I haven't met him face to face or anything, but I've taken in a few bounties of my own, so I've heard some things. That man is known for his ability to haul in the most dangerous criminals from all over the East Blue." I said, as Colby nodded his head up and down violently.

"She's right Luffy! He's as violent as a demon, but even he puts them to shame with how scary he is. He dices up his bounties, like a gruesome animal. Some have even taken to calling him a demon in human form…" Colby said in a near frightened whisper. "There's probably a pretty good reason the marines have him locked up. So if you go and ask him to join, there's nothing that's gonna stop him from doing the same to you!" he began panicking just from the mere thought of it.

A quick fist from Luffy was enough to snap him out of it. This time though, Colby didn't even bother to ask why it was done. The same answer would have been given anyway. As Colby nursed the bump on his head, I finished cleaning my other dagger.

"Listen Colby, not all of the marines are as good as gold as you think they all are. Some _are_ corrupt. So I think it's best that you hold off on your judgement on the pirate hunter until we've seen him with our own eyes. Besides, it's Luffy's crew that he's going to be joining if that's what Roronoa Zoro decides to do." I told him, as Colby got a defensive look on his face.

"But the marines are all good people deep down! How else are they able to catch so many bad guys?" Colby argued. "Besides, don't you hate pirates, Asuna?" he asked me, as I shook my head.

"What I said earlier was that _I didn't hate all pirates_." I corrected him, as I finished packing my things back where they belonged into my bag. "The same thing also goes for the marines. Might just be how I was raised, but that's what I honestly think on the subject."

At my words, Colby just went quiet as he processed them.

"I guess you have a point, but I can't believe that most of them are bad. And even if they are… I'll just remain myself, and hope that they can learn a better way…" he said, as a sheepish smile crossed his face. "Once I get enough courage to do so anyway."

Nodding my head in acceptance of his answer, I also silently hoped that he would never have to learn otherwise. Pirates were vicious, and the marines had to mirror that in order to more effectively catch them. That left scars of all sorts. Colby will have to one day face this, or worse, but I believe he would pull through some how.

"That aside, we're going to have to stop at the island where the pirate hunter is jailed either way. We have the bare minimal in supplies, about a days worth from the looks of it." I announced, as I glanced around the single barrel, crate, and cloth bag, and the coil of rope pinned up on the mast of the small boat the three of us would be sharing for the night. "Luckily, that island is only a night and half a day away."

"Yeah, the amount of food on here wouldn't last me a single morning…" Luffy agreed, as I turned to raise an eyebrow in his direction. What I saw when I did had me nearly drowning the ass.

While we had been talking, Luffy decided it was a good idea to blow through all the food we had. Colby must have noticed my angry posture, because he moved to the back of the boat as quietly as he could.

"Luffy…" I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Turning to see what I had called him for, Luffy froze with a worried look on his face.

"Hey Asuna, what's that strange look for?" He asked nervously.

His only answer was my fist burrowing into his rubbery skull. I must have hit him harder than I thought because it sent his head bouncing quite literally off the floor of the boat, then it snapped right back into place.

"OW, ow ow! That hurt! Why'd you hit me!?" He asked, as I gave the kid a skeptical look.

"I don't know. Maybe I felt like it since you ate all of the food." I scolded him. "Your lucky that island isn't too far away, so you'd better hope there aren't going to be any storms any time soon. Because if there are, and Colby and I end up starving because of you, then I'll kill you, gut you, and we'll survive on Monkey D. Luffy bread. Got me?" (Monkey Bread… So damn delicious…)

The thought of being the food, rather than eating it, made Luffy look a little green as he quickly nodded his head in understanding and muttered an apology.

It took me a minute to accept it, but I did nonetheless as I backed off from the straw hat kid. I knew before I got on this boat that something crazy might happen around Luffy. I just thought it would have something to do with that devil fruit ability he has, and not his stomach.

With that, the three of us decided to remain quite and enjoy the moment of peace we had. If I'd known exactly what was going to happen next, I would have said that we needed it…

Tomorrow, Colby would split ways with us to chase his dream as a marine, and Luffy and I might leave with his first crew member. That is, if he can turn a pirate hunter into the first mate for his crew, and future pirate ship.

….…

Next Chapter: Chapter 2 - Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro

….…

Okay, here is the first, completely rewritten chapter 1 for my story Sword Smith Asuna. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll be working on chapter 2 for this when I'm able to. So, until next time!

….…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Roronoa Zoro

Sitting bolt upright, I took a steadying deep breath as I tried my best to not shake the boat too badly in my haste to get out of the dream I had just been having. It had been of the day Bellemere died, like always. And like always, I wake up soon as the gun held to her chest goes off.

Glancing around, I was happy to see that both Coby and Luffy were still fast asleep. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I got up to check the compass and map I had brought out from my bag the day before to set a proper heading for the island Roronoa Zoro was rumored to be held on. Luffy was still dead set on making him a part of his crew, and nothing Coby said would sway him.

I'm no navigator, but I did learn a thing or two from Nami growing up. Behind Arlong's back of course. In his eyes, we needed to focus on honing our skills rather than each other. When we were finally able to leave the island to gain more experience for our fields, Arlong wasn't there to keep us separated. So, we taught each other a few things.

I taught Nami how to fight with the segmented staff I had made her and how to care for it, in exchange for what I know about navigating.

Picking up the Compass, and the map Coby had fallen asleep watching, I checked our location in correspondence with the early morning sunlight. We were a bit off, but that was easily fixed with the adjusting of the small sail. Once we were back on course, I went back to where I had been sitting yesterday and slid down to sit on my rear end.

Once I was settled, I thought back to my nightmare. In doing so, I had the last letter Bellemere had written before her death out of my pocket, and half way open before I realized what I was doing. Pausing to make sure Luffy and Coby were still out of it, I opened it the rest of the way, and began to read…

 _Asuna,_

 _If you got this letter from Genzo, then that means I'm no longer with you. I don't know what it was that took me from you, but I wrote this letter to tell you something important should something happen to me. It has something to do with your real mother and the origin of your birth._

 _I had wanted to wait until you were older to tell you, but I guess you'll read this when you do. I hope you are sitting down somewhere, because this is going to be quite a story I have to tell._

 _It was back when I was in the marines that I learned this. The island I was stationed on was where you and your mother were living under the protection of the navy. Not because the two of you were in danger from bandits or pirates, but because the World Government wanted complete control and obedience from your father._

 _The reason I was stationed on that island was to be a personal guard for you and your mother. During the first few weeks, your mother Annabelle and I became close friends. As our bond grew, she began to tell me stories about you, her, your father, and the short time the three of you got to live together as a family. According to her, your father loved the two of you dearly._

 _As I get into this tale, know that Annabelle wished for you to not hate your father because of who he is. I also want you to know that no matter what you think or feel, I still love you Asuna. As my baby girl, just like I do with Nami and Nojiko. So here we go…_

 _You were born on an island in the Grand Line. A misty island that was once home to a great kingdom which existed centuries ago. After a great tragedy struck the island, it was abandoned. No one dared to set foot on this island in all of that time, At least until the man who would become your father chose to settle there. Not long after this, your father came across your mother. Annabelle was a blacksmith and a swords woman. Much like you, huh? Her dream however was to become the greatest. With that said, three guesses as to who your father is…_

 _Yep, your dad is_

"Hey Asuna, what ya reading?" I heard Luffy say from where he stood. His nose practically touching the back of the pages I've read a thousand times at least. Unfortunately for Luffy, my first instinct upon finding someone I'm not too familiar with up in my face is to put a dagger to their throat. Luckily for Luffy, I know to look and see who I'm cutting before it's made. Luffy may be rubber, but rubber can be sliced.

Once I was sure that Luffy was fine, I shoved him towards the other side of our little boat, rocking it a bit.

"Damn it Luffy, didn't anyone ever teach you not to sneak up on people?" I snapped at him, as he sat up with a frown on his face. Readjusting his hat, his expression became a bit more apologetic.

"Oh, sorry… I just wanted to know what was making you sad." He said, as I gave him a confused look.

"It's none of your business." I told him simply, as I decided to put my mask back into place. I should have known that I wouldn't be safe to feel my emotions while I was in the company of my temporary companions to begin with. It didn't matter how much I wanted to think of them as friends, I couldn't take that step. If I did, and Arlong saw them as a liability…

Let's just say that I don't even want to think of what he would do.

"What's going on you guys?" Coby asked, as he slowly sat up. Apparently my violent shoving of Luffy woke him up.

"It's nothing Coby, just go back to sleep. It's gonna be a while yet before we reach land." I told him, as he hummed in agreement before lying back down. In moments he was back out again. I turned to tell Luffy the same thing, but I ended up not having to seeing as he was already snoring very loudly. Rolling my eyes at his antics, I simply folded the old letter back up to be stuffed back into my pocket. I'll just read the rest of it later on.

Moving to sit next to the mast once more, I sat back and watched the sunrise. I knew that I should probably take my own advice, but after that dream, I know that I won't be able to go back to sleep. So instead, I opted to just stay up and keep an eye on our course and the sunrise.

 _The way things have been going with these two, I'd better enjoy the silence while we can._ I thought as took on the seated position one would use for meditation. I swear, if Luffy hadn't stated that his middle initial is _D_ , then I'd have sworn it was _trouble_.

It wasn't until about mid morning that Coby and Luffy stirred once more. Hungry growls echoing all around them as they sat up in hunger. Luffy muttered something about wanting food, but shut up rather quickly when I threw a glare his way. At my look, he simply turned around muttering something about not wanting to be the food.

Satisfied that our little talk, A.K.A. my shouting at him had made a lasting impression, I relaxed my expression.

Hearing the rustling of paper, I turned my attention from Luffy to see Coby checking our heading. Moving to stand next to him, I watched as Coby studied the map and compared our position to our destination with the compass.

"Every thing alright, Coby?" I asked him, as he looked up at me.

"Oh, yeah. I was just making sure we were still on course. I though I'd better check just in case we strayed while we all slept last night." he answered. "But it looks like we didn't."

"That's because I already checked and corrected it." I told him, as Coby blinked at me in surprise.

"Wait, you know how to navigate?" He asked, as I nodded my head once.

"I don't know about being qualified to navigate, but I did learn how to read a map from my sister." I told him, as he looked over at me with a small smile.

"The one who steals from pirates?" He asked, as I nodded my head once.

Feeling eyes on me, I turned to see Luffy throwing me that monkey smile of his again. The uneasiness in my gut told me that I probably wouldn't like what he was about to say.

"Your sister's a navigator!?" he asked with excitement, and stars in his eyes. "Maybe she'll join my crew too! Then you could just join with her instead of waiting!"

"I already told you guys that she hates pirates. There's no way she'd join a pirate crew…" I told him, with a dry stare. A dry stare that became ice to my soul when another thought ran through my head. _Not willingly… Arlong saw to that…_

Keeping my trap shut before I let anything slip, I turned my attention from Luffy to the open sea. I felt Luffy's grin fade as he regarded me for a few moments. When I showed no signs of turning to face them, he shrugged his shoulders at what I'm assuming was a worried Coby. Without another word, Luffy then moved towards the front of the boat to sit on the bow. Right over the open water I might add.

Sending up a silent prayer that Luffy was good at keeping himself balanced, I just let him be as I battled my inner demons. After all, I had a pressing problem I needed to take care of; and that would be to find Nami as soon as I could.

A few more hours went by after that without incident. However, the quiet was beginning to become more than what the two boys with me could handle. To be honest, it was beginning to be a bit much for even me.

"Today sure is beautiful!" Luffy declared for us, and the entire sky and sea to hear; effectively breaking the silence.

"Yeah, with this weather and as long as we keep to this heading, we should reach the island very soon." Coby stated, as he checked the map and compass once again.

"Wait, so we're actually going to reach the place we set out for!?" Luffy asked, as Coby gave him an incredulous look.

"Of course we are." he answered, as Luffy threw his head back and stretched out his arms for a bout of insane laughter.

"He'd be totally lost without us, wouldn't he?" Coby asked me in a hushed tone.

"I do believe he would be." I agreed, as Luffy called back to us.

"Hey guys! There's the island!" He shouted, as Coby and I looked towards where he was pointing. And he was right. There sat the island that had a huge marine base sitting high above the town with a stone wall surrounding it.

Sailing into the harbor was an easy feat, and so was tying our small boat to a post. The fee for docking was real cheap as well, which wasn't bad considering between the three of us, I was the only one who had any berries on me. Luffy had been practically dirt poor when we found him, and Coby had always had his share on Alvida's ship stolen from him. Besides, it's not like I can't replace it in a few hours anyway. My bag was still heavy with swords and other things to sell to the vendors here.

"We're here!" Luffy declared, as he held a fist up in the air. Without further ado, Luffy began walking towards the town. Following suit, I glanced behind me briefly to see if Coby followed. Which he did, muttering his worries under his breath as he went.

In order to get on the road to the marine base, we ended up having to pass through the market place. It was rather lively with many goods that looked to have a nice quality, and the people here had smiles on their faces, but there was one thing off with them.

The smiles didn't go all the way to their eyes.

That could only mean one of two things. One, the marine captain in charge here is a tyrant. Two, this island was a popular target or resting spot for pirates. Yes, I can see just how big that marine base on the hill is, but that doesn't mean the marines aren't being paid off by pirates. I'll need to know more before I can figure out which one is which though.

I put it from my mind for the time being, though I'm not going to drop my guard an inch while I'm here.

"Luffy, you're seriously out of your mind if you're going to try and get that guy to join you!" Coby protested, as I was brought back to the conversation I had missed in observing the towns folk.

"I haven't made up my mind yet. I've got to see if he's a good guy or not first." Luffy waved him off, as Coby gave him a wide eyed worried look.

"He's in prison because he's _obviously not!_ " Coby shouted back at him, as Luffy walked over to a fruit stand, his stomach rumbling hungrily as the tasty fruit on display. Feeling a bit hungry myself, I grabbed three pairs and handed one to Luffy and then one to Coby. Holding the one I intended to eat myself, I then paid the lady who stood waiting patiently.

Soon as the berries rested in her hands, Luffy dropped a question.

"Hey, do you know if a guy named Zoro is around here anywhere?" He asked, as the lady and the people around us jumped back like Luffy had caught on fire or something.

"Maybe we shouldn't mention the name _Zoro_ around here…" Coby whispered to Luffy who nodded his head once in agreement. With that reaction, it was easy to see that we would be leaving the town empty handed if the subject was pushed too far.

Moving on from the stand, we kept moving through the market. As we walked, I kept my eyes open for a black smith shop or something of the like. Seeing as Luffy and Coby's destination was the marine base, I had to cut my walk with them short. They might not know the significance of my eye color, and any trained marine captain whose been in the navy for a long while would spot it right away.

If that were to happen, I'd get to meet Roronoa Zoro faster than Luffy and Coby would.

"Oh well… He's probably at the marine base anyway, so I guess we should go check it out." Luffy said, as he kept walking, Coby and I close behind him. "You still want to be a marine, right Coby?" he asked, as Coby became a bit giddy and nervous.

"Maybe after we've settled in on the island first. I don't think I'm ready just yet." Coby answered, as a smile came to his face. "Though from what I've heard, the man in charge of this base is called Captain Morgan." He told us, as we got the same reaction as before, only it was a little more extreme this time.

One guy had me raising an eyebrow.

"Am I seeing things, or did that tall skinny guy just _slither_ over his market stall?" I asked no one in particular.

"I think he did…" Luffy answered, while Coby looked around at the other people in confusion.

Moving on with a giggle, Coby and I followed suit.

"This town sure is a weird place." Luff commented, as Coby moved to walk next to Luffy instead of behind and off to the side like I was doing.

"Yeah that is strange. I get why they're scared of Zoro's name, but I don't understand why they were afraid of the marine captains name too." Coby said, as he looked where the three of us were going. "I don't know about you guys, but I've got a bad feeling about this." he said, as I sighed at the familiar statement.

"For once, I agree with you on that too Coby." I agreed, as I spotted the type of shop I was looking for, I stopped in my tracks. Sensing my halt, Luffy paused with Coby following suit, both glancing back my way.

"You two go on ahead to the marine base. I kind of want to check out the black smith shop and maybe sell some stuff. When I'm done, I'll catch up with you guys." I told them, as Luffy nodded his head once, turning to continue on his way.

"Are you sure Asuna?" Coby asked, as I nodded my head once.

"Yeah. Don't worry though, I won't go anywhere without saying goodbye." I told him, as Coby nodded his head once in return.

"Okay… I'll hold you to that." He said, before he turned to scramble after Luffy.

I stood there until I saw that Coby had caught up with Luffy before I went into the shop. Coby could look after himself well enough, but with his spineless nature, anyone could just walk up and begin pushing him around. Poor kid barely survived the stress of telling Alvida off, who knows what he would strain at anyone nastier.

And believe me, Alvida is a kitten compared to what I've seen and been put through.

Inside the shop, I felt myself stop dead in my tracks as I saw just how empty the shelves on the walls, and the displays were. A familiar ringing was the only indication that the building hadn't been abandoned just yet. Knowing that the merchant here wouldn't be able to hear me or the bell that sat collecting dust on the counter, I just took my time looking at the few things he had left in this place.

A few ores, and house ware items were all that he had. Now that I take a good look, the displays and shelves that were vacant were ones you'd use to house weapons.

Seeing this, and pairing that with the reaction of the towns people, I pieced together the answer to the theory I had upon entering this town.

It wasn't pirates that ruled this place with an iron fist, it was the marines. Hence the absence of weaponry in this shop. Had it really been pirates, then there would be property damage added to the empty look. Not to mention the prices I saw on the items. They were way above the average.

When all became silent, I figured the merchant in the back room had finished hammering out the piece they were forging, so I moved to the counter and rang the bell. Hearing the shifting of feet, I figured that I had surprised them. Ringing it one more time, I felt a small smile tug at my lips as the shifting turned into hurried footfalls as a middle aged man rounded the corner with a hammer in his hand and his apron still on.

The shocked, wide eyed look the man had on his face would have been funny had the circumstances been any different. It was easy to see that upon hearing the bell, he had been expecting to see someone other than a customer. If anything, I'm betting he thought a marine had shown up to hassle him.

It took the blacksmith only a moment to snap himself back to reality and regard me with an apologetic look.

"Sorry about that Miss, I just haven't seen anyone step into my store other than the marines from the base. How can I help you?" The man asked politely as he moved to set the hammer down on the counter that stood between us, despite his haggard appearance and the obvious bags beneath his eyes.

"I came to sell some steel." I answered him, as the man's eyes crinkled with regret.

"I see. I'm terribly sorry Miss, but I can't afford to buy anything at this time. Pardon my rudeness, but I really need to get back to work." he said, as the man turned to head back to his forge that must be hidden away in the back room.

Unlike my sister, I don't turn my back because I can't be paid for my work in berries. Under this current situation and others like it, I find information equally valuable.

"I have some marine standard regulation sabers I can trade you, if that will help you out." I called after him. Pausing mid step, the guy turned to look at me. That apologetic look souring just a bit towards despair.

"That's very kind of you Miss, but I don't have anything to trade you for. The marines from the base tend to go through my stock almost as soon as it comes out of my forge. Now if you don't mind, I have a big order to fill." He dismissed me once more. Unfortunately, I don't give up that easily.

"How about the swords I have to sell in exchange for information?" I offered, causing the man to stop walking once more. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out one of the sabers and laid it out on the counter. "I made these personally, if you want to appraise them." I added as the blacksmith considered my words.

Taking a deep breath, the man let it out slowly as he approached the counter. Picking up the saber, he draws it from its sheath to have a good look at it. Right away, it was easy to see that he was pretty impressed with the craftsmanship of the blade. To be honest, I was glad that he was. It took me a long time in secret to get the sword to look like the marine standard issue behind Arlong's back. Not to mention the beating I had received for the sudden decrease in my regular supplies.

"You made these?" the man asked, as I nodded my head once.

"All I want in exchange is information regarding the marines, and a certain prisoner they have in custody." I said, as the guy sheathed the sword once more and returned it to the counter.

"This isn't how I normally conduct business, but premade swords would give me a head start on their next raid of my shop." The man said, sighing heavily as he did so. "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with why the people of this town are so scared of pissing off Captain Morgan." I stated, as I leaned against the counter. I had a feeling this talk could take a bit after all.

"Captain _Axe-Hand_ Morgan as he is known in the navy. He was put in charge of the marine base here a few years ago. Rumor had it that he had managed to capture Captain Kuro of the Black Cat pirates. The fight had cost him his jaw, and his hand. Upon his arrival, he commissioned me to make the axe he now carries in place of the hand he lost; and the town doctor to implant the damn thing into his arm. Everything seemed peaceful for the first few weeks. Then it all changed…" The blacksmith before me said, as I listened closely. "Then the next thing we all knew, the bastard had raised the taxes, and people began disappearing just for looking at him a little funny. Some had been arrested for months on end, others he outright had executed."

"The way we all figured it, his fight with Kuro must have messed him up somehow." the blacksmith said, as he looked around his shop.

"I'm not really surprised to hear that." I said, as the man looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Kuro was also known as _a man of a thousand plans_ on the seas. Capturing him must have been a rather difficult thing to do. I've even met a few bounty hunters who were put out of business because they tried to bring Kuro in." I explained, ready to move on with the story.

"Indeed." The guy agreed, ready to continue as well. "Once Morgan was satisfied that we were all being ruled with an iron fist, he mostly began staying up at the base, maintaining his control at a distance. For a time, we could a breath easier again, but this wasn't meant to last. Morgan's son began to terrorize us not long after that. We all have to bow at that brat's passing, and give him whatever he wants for fear of what Morgan would do to us if we refuse. Even if it meant putting us out of house or home, or if we were to be injured or killed…" At this, the man trailed off as anger began to fill his eyes. "I already knew that rat bastard of a marine was a poor father with the way he corrupted even his own son, but I didn't realize the extent of it until three weeks ago. When his brat son brought his rabid dog to the inn my wife runs with our five year old daughter, Rika."

" _Rabid dog_?" I echoed, as the man nodded once.

"Yes. Mutt looked like he had been starved and beaten. Brats doing, I reckon. He threw the damn door open and let the mongrel do as it pleased. It jumped up on the tables and ate anything it could get, growling at anyone who didn't move away fast enough. Rika grabbed a broom and began trying to push the dog away, and the mutt attacked her for it. That's what I was told anyway. I was here working the forge when it happened." He paused, his fist going white as he clenched it upon the counter it rested.

Even I felt a pang of fury as I listened to what he had to say. This marine captain and his son both sounded like they had a lot to answer for.

"Was she hurt?" I asked him, as his anger made way for a touch of relief in his expression.

"No. She wasn't hurt." He began, as he relaxed his hands. "This bounty hunter passing through happened to be taking a meal at the inn when it happened. And, while I find his methods of putting the dog down to be a bit brutal, he still saved my little girl."

At hearing this description, I found myself standing to my full height. What bounty hunter did I know of who was known to be brutal in his way of fighting, and a bounty hunter to boot?

"So that was why Roronoa Zoro was locked up on this island." I stated, knowing that to be a fact.

At the name I just spoke, the blacksmith went wide eyed for the second time since I've stepped foot inside this shop.

"Wait, you know Zoro?" he asked, as I shook my head no.

"Not personally. Well, not yet anyway. An acquaintance of mine wanted to come to this island to find him." I said, as I reached into my bag, and began piling all the swords I had made lately on top of the counter. Once my bag was ten times lighter than when I first came in, I zipped it closed and tossed it over one shoulder.

"Well, thanks for the info. I've got another place to check out before I meet up with my acquaintances." I told him, as I turned to leave.

"Hold on, if Zoro was the prisoner you wanted to know about, there's more you might want to know." the blacksmith called after me.

Pausing, I glanced over my shoulder to hear him out. Seeing as he got my attention once more, he told me the rest.

"Morgan's son made a deal with Zoro. After his precious mutt was killed, the brat grew angry and threatened to have Rika and my wife both executed. He didn't have to, but Zoro made a deal with the little son of a bitch and took their place."

At hearing this, I was taken aback. While not as high in their superiority as the marines, bounty hunters could be just as every bit messed up. Like I told Coby, it was how they were able to catch pirates and haul them in like they could. You had to be able to move and act like they did to an extent. To hear of one showing compassion like that…

To be honest, it surprised me.

"What was the deal?" I asked, as the man frowned. It was clear that he wanted to help the man who saved his family, but it was also killing him that it was all out of his hands.

"To be strung up for all the town to see. If he survives until the end of the month without food or water while tied up, then he will be permitted to go free."

The implications of this _deal_ , made my teeth clench.

In that moment, I didn't care that I hadn't met Roronoa Zoro face to face before. I had made up my mind. I was going to help Luffy get him out of here. As far as Zoro joining Luffy's crew, that would be between the two of them. Keeping my emotions from showing, I thanked the man once more as I turned to leave once more. This time, I was allowed to leave without another word.

As I left the shop, I let the door close behind me before I leaned my back against it, and placed a hand over my eyes. Images of being put in chains, and held down as Arlong's mark was etched into the skin of the back of my left shoulder. After which I was left in the dungeon for days, ignored and starving, and unable to know if Nami was fairing alright on her own in the fortress of the Arlong Pirates.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly before taking another.

 _You're alright Asuna, just get a grip. You aren't in that dungeon anymore._ I thought to myself, as I felt my world right itself once again.

Feeling more like myself, I pushed away from the door, and began headed in the direction of the inn I had been told about. As I neared the building, I heard a familiar voice coming from the alley way next to it.

"Really!?" A little girl all but squealed in excitement, as I rounded the corner to see Luffy and Coby talking to her. Luffy on a barrel, Coby on the steps leading inside the inn, and the little girl stood between the two.

"Yeah, he ate every last grain of rice." Luffy told her, as he noticed my approach. "Oh, hey Asuna." he called in greeting, as Coby did the same.

"Hey you two." I greeted back, as I then turned to look at the little girl. "And you must be Rika." I said, as she looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Yes… How did you know who I was?" she asked, as she gave me a bit of a nervous look.

"I just came from your dad's shop. He told me a bit about you and your mama." I told her, giving her a small smile to show that I didn't mean any harm. She returned it, if only for a moment before becoming sad.

"Yeah… Daddy hasn't been able to come home for a long time. The marines keep him busy all the time. Mama and I miss him." She said, as she held her small hands over her heart, like it ached. "I use to go and see him every day, but after Zoro helped us, Mama and Daddy think it's best that I stay close to home for a while."

"I wonder if Zoro really is as evil as everyone says he is." Coby spoke up, as Rika whirled on him with a heated glare.

"He's not!" she shouted, calming herself a moment later. "He's good. I know he is, because he got himself punished for Mama and me." At this, Luffy became curious.

"Rika, you're not making any sense." he told her, as she looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry. Its that stupid Helmepo." Rika said, as she trailed off, becoming uncertain if she wanted to say anything more.

"She's talking about Zoro's arrest. Her Dad told me everything." I explained, as I relayed what I had learned to them. At the end of it, Rika gave me a thankful look.

"What Asuna said is true. Helmepo has been hitting and kicking him the whole time he's been tied up." Rika said, as tears began welling up in her big brown eyes. As they began to break away from her eyes, Rika hid them in her hands. "He's being so unfair to him, and I don't know what to do."

At this, Coby's expression fell to mirror Rika's as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Wow. I can see why you're upset." Coby told her, sympathy in his voice.

Before either of us could say anything more, we hear a loud crash coming from inside the inn. Glancing over at Luffy, I gave him a mutual nod as he hopped off the barrel he had been sitting on, and began making his way inside through the back.

Following him, as Rika and Coby followed me, we also made our way inside through the back. As we reached the main area for customers, I put a hand on Rika's shoulder to stop her at who I saw.

A boy with a crazy hair do that did _not_ flatter his face, in an ugly purple suit, accompanied by two marines. This kid had to be Helmepo. We had made it inside just in time to see him kick his foot up on the table he sat at, and purposefully broke the bowl of fruit that had decorated it.

"I'm hungry, bring us whatever food you've got ready, and keep the bill." the snot nosed brat ordered, as he let out an obnoxious laugh. "And bring me a bottle of your finest alcohol or whatever shit you sell in this place. You might even want to hurry the hell up lady, I don't have all day."

Turning Rika to face me, I then squatted down to her level.

"Hey Rika, can you do me a favor and go to your room and lock the door, Sweet Pea?" I asked her, as she gave us a worried look.

"But, what about you guys?" she asked us, as I gave her a small reassuring smile.

"Oh, well be fine, but I don't think what's about to happen is for kids to see just yet. Besides, I don't want Helmepo to get any bright ideas if he happens to spot you." I said, as she nodded her head once in understanding.

"Ok. I suppose you have a good point." she agreed, as I felt a small bit of relief.

"Good. Just stay there until your Mama comes to get you." I told her, as she nodded her head once before running along.

While I had been speaking to Rika, Rika's mother had scurried over and placed a wine glass in Helmepo's hand, pouring a wine that had to be pricey if the date I spied on the bottle was anything to go by.

"Ah, that's more like it." He cooed, giving Rika's mother an evil smirk. "Now I just have to think of something entertaining to do."

Just this kids voice alone wanted me to pull a dagger form one of my boots, and slice it right through his jugular. He was trying to be the mirror image of his father, leeching off his _Daddy's_ power as he did so. However, it was what he said next that had me biting my bottom lip so hard it drew blood.

"I don't know, maybe since I'm bored out of my skull, I can have a bit of fun executing Zoro tomorrow." the bastard said, as I felt myself reaching for my boot.

But before my fingers can even brush the top of my dagger, Luffy had already lost it. Rushing forward so fast his hat flew right off his head. Deftly catching it with one hand, I watched with great satisfaction as Luffy decked him right across the face.

It happened so fast that the damn brat didn't know what had hit him until he found his ass sprawled out on the floor with a throbbing cheek.

Sitting bolt upright, Helmepo looked up at Luffy with utter fear. Taking a look at Luffy's expression, I found myself taken aback at the anger I saw etched into his usually grinning face.

"Y-you… _YOU HIT ME!_ " Helmepo shouted, shock mingling with the terror.

Snapping out of his own shock, Coby decided it would be a good idea to rush forward and grab Luffy by the shoulders from behind. Trying to restrain him. And like it was back on Alvida's ship, Luffy was still able to inch forward.

Recognizing how bad it would be if Luffy ended up being arrested should he continue, I walked forward as well.

"Luffy, you can't hit him!" Coby told him, as Luffy ignored him.

"This guy ain't nothing but scum!" Luffy shouted back at him.

"You actually hit me! How dare you hit the son of Captain Morgan!" Helmepo kept whining.

"Yeah, like I give a damn!" Luffy shouted again.

"You'll give a damn when he executes you!"

"Why don't you get up and fight like a man!"

By now, I had reached where Luffy was still inching forward. Reaching over, I grabbed a hold of Luffy's collar, and braced my feet against the floor.

"That's enough!" I raised my voice catching the attention of everyone around us. Thankfully, my words were enough to make Luffy stop trying to drag Coby and I across the floor with him.

"She's right Luffy, why are you trying to get on the marines bad side?" Coby snapped at him

"Right or not, who the hell is this bitch to butt in and try to control things!?" Helmepo said from where he still sat on the floor holding his cheek, the two marines with him standing on either side of him.

Sighing heavily, I turned a hate filled glare the punks way. Seeing it, he began to sweat bullets.

"Helmepo, I'd be nice to me if I were you. All I have to do is let my friend here go, and he'd go to next Sunday with your face. Got it?" I told him in a deathly calm voice that had him nearly pissing his pants.

Sensing the danger to their charge, and in turn their lives, the two marines just grabbed one of Helmepo's arms each. Lifting him up from the floor, they then helped him out of the inn. Soon as the door closed behind them, I put Luffy's straw hat back on his head and let him go. Motioning for Coby to do the same, he back off as well.

"I've made up my mind." he said, calmer now that Helmepo had left. "Today, Zoro joins my crew."

With that said, Luffy then bent down next to where Helmepo had been sitting when he punched him, and began picking up shards of the wine glass that had become collateral damage upon the floor. While he did this, the other patrons kept glancing around at each other, and the three of us as they whispered among themselves. A few sat back down and began their meals again, while others just paid their bill and left.

Not paying them any mind, I turned to see Rika's mother sitting behind the bar on a stood, her head in her hand.

Moving towards the bar, I let my bag slip from my shoulders. Pulling out an empty pouch, I filled it with a good amount of berries before tying it closed. Putting my bag down so it rested against the bar itself, I plopped it down on the counter just loud enough to get the distraught woman's attention.

The sudden noise had her jumping a little, but she did look up at least.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, as she gave me a sad smile.

"I will be…" she answered after a moment. Glancing around, she finally noticed someone missing. "Oh no, Rika!" she all but shouted, jumping to her feet in a panic.

"She's fine. I asked her to go to her room until you came to get her. I spoke to your husband at the smith shop just up the road. I traded my goods for current news, so I know what happened three weeks ago. In light of that, I must ask that you please forgive Luffy picking up glass over there. Helmepo's words just pushed him a little too far." I told her, as she sank back onto the stool out of relief.

"Thank you, but you didn't have to do all of that for us." she thanked me, as I waved my hand.

"Don't worry about it." I told her, as I gently pushed the small sack of money in her direction. "This is for the collateral damage to your property and belongings as a result of my friend's fight."

"That's nice of you dear, but I can't accept it." she protested, as I gave her a pointed look.

"I insist. It'll do us a big favor if the marines can't pin property damage charges on us in addition to assault." I argued, as she took a steadying breath. Knowing I had a point, she eventually caved. Taking her acceptance, I picked up the small purse and deposited over the counter and out of eye sight.

Straightening back to my full height, I was just in time to see Luffy bring all the shards he could find to the trash bin and tossed them in.

"I'm really sorry." Luffy apologized, bowing for effect.

Nodding her head once, Rika's mother got up from her stool, returning Luffy's bow.

"Thank you. Now if you will excuse me, I wish to go check up on my daughter." she said, excusing herself. Heading towards the back, she followed the same path Rika had taken to get to her room.

Once she was gone, Luffy turned and began making his way to the door. Glancing over at him, I didn't have to ask to know where he was going. I already knew.

"Hey Luffy." I called after him. Luffy paused at his name, but he didn't say anything, nor did he look back at me. "You're going to see Zoro again, aren't you?" I asked him anyway.

"Yeah." Luffy answered after a tense moment had passed. "I made up my mind, and I have no intention of changing it." he warned, as I tucked my bag more firmly behind the bar. I hated to impose on Rika's mother like this, but I would have to come back for it later on.

"I know. I just wanted to know if it'd be alright if I come with you this time. If Helmepo really is planning to execute Zoro tomorrow, then we need to get him the hell out of his restraints by the end of _today_." I asked him, as Luffy finally turned to glance at me over his shoulder.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Luffy asked, cracking that familiar grin of his again.

"Wait, what about me?" Coby asked, his legs shaking from the force of holding a brave front. Up until now since Helmepo left, he's been silent.

"It might be best if you stay here and help Rika and her mom in case Helmepo comes back to cause more trouble before everything's done on our end." I told him, as the shaking in his legs came to a grounding halt.

"Okay, I can deal with that. I just want you two to be careful." He said, giving us a determined look. "And please try not to get arrested."

At this, Luffy gave him a resounding laugh.

"Yeah, we'll try, but no promises." he told him as I nodded in agreement.

With that, Luffy and I left the inn.

It didn't take us long to reach the stone wall that wrapped around the marine base. We only made one stop before we got here, and that was so that I could buy some sunglasses. If we were going to go up against marines, I needed to keep my eye color concealed. Not to mention they did a good job at keeping my bangs out of my eyes.

Walking around the wall for a good few paces, Luffy finally came to a stop next to a ladder. On the way here, Luffy had told me how Rika had snuck into the marine base to try and feed Zoro. Only to end up being caught by Helmepo, and then be literally thrown over the wall as per his orders.

Hopping up on the wall, Luffy held on with just his arms as he peered over the top of the rock wall. Doing the same, I took in the sight before me.

On the only set of sticks sat a man tied to them. Both of his arms stretched over and away form each other, and tied down; and a rope sat around his waist, just over a haramaki I believe they were called, keeping him off his feet. His position was one that would become uncomfortable in just a short period of time. The fact that he wasn't raving mad from exhaustion and sheer fatigue spoke volumes of his endurance.

On top of his head sat a black bandanna soaked through with sweat and dirt gained from being exposed to the elements for days on end. Dried blood was visible on his face, just below the bandanna as well. Rika had spoken true about Helmepo's torture of this guy.

On his left ear also glinted three gold earrings in harsh rays of the high noon sunlight.

"So this is him." I said, as Luffy nodded his head once.

"Yep, that's Zoro. Looks like he's asleep though." Luffy said, as I squinted my eyes to try and take a better look at the guy. His eyes seemed to be closed from what I could tell, but it was the controlled rhythm of his breathing that told me other wise.

"I don't think he's really asleep, Luffy. From the way he's breathing, I'd say he's meditating."

" _Medidating?_ " Luffy echoed, as I gave him a dry stare.

"Don't ask and don't think about it, you'll only hurt yourself." I told him as he gave me an innocent _I don't get it_ look.

"Okaaaaaaaayyyyyy." He drew out in a single breath as I rolled my eyes at his antics. Typical Luffy from the looks of it.

"Oh whatever, let's just get in there and get him out." I hissed at him, about ready to ring his neck.

Without another word, Luffy climbed over the wall we were hanging off of to jump down on the other side. Following suit, I leaned back against the wall once I was on the ground. Before we untied him, Luffy also made it clear on the way over here that he wanted to speak to Zoro first. Crew business from what he said. Hence why I stood back while Luffy went forward.

He stopped just a few feet away from Zoro and waited for him to be noticed. It took a few minutes, but eventually the guy snapped out of his meditation. Upon opening his eyes, he noticed Luffy's shadow before the kid himself.

Taking one good look at who had come back to visit him, Zoro got an annoyed look on his face.

"What the hell are you doing here again? Don't you have other things to do?" Zoro asked him in a deep baritone, as he looked up at Luffy from underneath his bandanna. The shadow from it making his dark eyes seem rather intimidating. Oddly enough, I felt that this look suited him as a bounty hunter.

Brushing his words away, Luffy put his hands on his hips.

"Here's the deal. I'll untie you, but only if you promise to join my crew." he bluntly stated, only for Zoro to look at him like he was speaking in tongues.

"Join your _what_?" Zoro asked, as Luffy dropped his hands in order to move closer.

"I'm putting together a pirate crew, and I want you to join it." Luffy stated, as Zoro scoffed at his words.

"Pirate crew… As if I'd fall so low as to become what I hunt, screw that business." Zoro said, shooting Luffy's offer down.

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Luffy demanded, becoming a bit offended at the answer Zoro gave him.

"They're despicable bastards, so why would I join a crew full of 'em." Zoro answered, as Luffy gave him a knowing look I knew too well.

It was very similar to the look he gave me on the boat ride here, trying to get me to agree to join his crew already. Silently, I couldn't help but wish this poor bastard luck, he was going to need it with how stubborn Luffy seemed to be with what he wanted.

"Aw, come on. Everybody already knows you as a vicious bounty hunter always out for blood." Luffy said, trying to be persuasive.

At this, Zoro only gave Luffy a stubborn look of his own.

"People can say what they want about me, I don't give a shit what they think. I haven't done a single thing in my life that I regret." Zoro said, as a dark smirk crossed his lips. "Once I complete this challenge, I'll go and accomplish whatever the hell I want."

I don't know what it was about that smirk, but I didn't doubt a single word that just came out of this man's mouth. In fact, the way he said with such conviction had me speechless. He was leaning up against a post, tied to it so tight his blood must have trouble passing through his veins, and yet he sees this ordeal as a challenge.

A challenge against his body and spirit's endurance.

Looking away from Zoro's face, I turned my gaze to the hands I saw hanging limply off to the side of him. The callouses I saw etched into the skin of his hands, I could easily tell that he definitely lived by the sword as the rumors had claimed. If anything, that just further legitimatized what I sensed about this guy's spirit.

 _Monkey D. Luffy, if you do somehow convince this guy to join your crew, then you'll have made yourself a powerful ally._ I thought, as Luffy just flashed that monkey smile of his.

"Yeah. Well, that's cool and all, but I already decided that you're going to be on my crew." Luffy announced, as he glanced over at Zoro's enraged form.

"WHAT! You can't do that!" he protested, only for his words to fly right over Luffy's head.

"Trust me, he won't take that as an answer." I spoke up for the first time since Zoro and Luffy had started speaking. "He's in the habit of asking until you give in."

Looking past Luffy, Zoro only took one look at me before he narrowed his eyes dangerously at me.

I don't know why, but when he did this, I felt like prey that had just disturbed a sleeping predator. To be honest, I don't know why that look of his bothered me this way. I've faced down whole crews of pirates here in the East Blue, and hauled them in all the same. Sure, some of them ended up being close calls for me, but I always made it through dealing with them somehow.

And absolutely _none_ of them have affected me this way before.

"For a girl with such strange eyes, you don't strike me as someone who'd follow a guy like this? You a pirate and a part of this crew he's trying to get me to join?" Zoro asked me, as I firmly locked my mental guards into place.

Reaching up, I pulled my new sunglasses down to rest on my nose. Hiding my eyes from this guy. Being a swordsman, I shouldn't be too surprised that he'd notice my eyes. Yet, that could also bring about complications should he remember where he's either seen or heard of my eye color before.

"Oh, Asuna isn't a part of my crew yet, but she will be once we find her sister." Luffy spoke up, drawing Zoro's attention thankfully, back onto himself. "But I'll worry about that later once I get your sword back from that idiot. So if you want me to hand it over once I have it, you'll have to join my crew." Luffy taunted, as Zoro looked like he was about to blow a gasket.

Not that I could blame the guy. If our situations were switched around, I'd be about ready to kill him too.

"Okay, you're really pissing me the fuck off!" Zoro snapped at him.

Ignoring him once more, Luffy just gave a laugh as he began running in the opposite direction of the base. Seeing this, Zoro became really shocked.

Again, I couldn't blame him for this either. Luffy claimed to be a pirate, but he didn't really act like a pirate. He didn't do anything to hurt others unless they tried to hurt him first. And the way he's looked out for Coby up until this point, despite not knowing him for barely two days; it was all very…

Baffling.

"No way, is he really going to break in there by himself?" Zoro muttered, more to himself, but I didn't really care.

"From what I've learned about this kid over the last two days, is that he's more stubborn than a mule." I said, as I moved to the spot Luffy had just vacated. Turning to face the direction Luffy had run off in, I cupped my hands around my mouth.

"Luffy! You're heading the wrong way!" I shouted after him. Hearing me, Luffy stopped to look over his shoulder. Looking from me, to the base behind me, he let out a sheepish giggle. What happened next, I should have expected, as Luffy stretched his arms back towards Zoro and I, and _way_ passed us.

Having seen this back on Alvida's ship, I knew what was going to happen next. Dropping into a crouch, I managed to just avoid Luffy's flying form passing above my head. Once he was gone, I stood back to my full height just in time to see Zoro making the same expression I did when I first witnessed Luffy's devil fruit powers.

"What the hell is that guy?" Zoro asked, more to himself than anyone else like before.

"I would say a pain in the ass, but I think we already knew that." I snorted sarcastically, as I faced the direction Luffy was now running in. His stretchy thing had given him a pretty good head start at least.

"No argument there. So if you aren't a pirate, why are you traveling around with that guy?" Zoro asked, as I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's a long story." I began, as I turned my attention to the rope binding Zoro's right arm. Damn knots looked rather complicated. "One I can tell later once we get you out of here." I told him, as I went to move forward.

"Wait! I can't leave this spot. Or else-" Zoro began to protest as I cut him off.

"Else your deal with Helmepo to leave Rika and her mother alone will be void. I heard all about that from Rika herself and her father." I finished for him, giving him a serious look. "I hate to break it to you, but Helmepo has no intention of honoring your little deal with him. In fact, I doubt he was planning on you leaving this base alive."

"What?" Zoro nearly whispered, as he was floored by what I was telling him.

I opened my mouth to tell him the rest, but I didn't get the chance as I heard a thud behind me, followed by a small curse. Turning around, I spotted a boy with familiar pink hair.

"Coby? What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him, as he gave me an apologetic look.

"She's telling the truth Zoro." Coby began, ignoring me for Zoro as he panted for breath. "Rika's dad just made it to her mom's inn with news. Helmepo's already put out the word that he's planning on executing you tomorrow." He said, as he collapsed onto his knees to rest.

At this, Zoro's eyes widened, as mine narrowed. Understanding dawned on me also, as to why Luffy left as soon as he got done cleaning up the mess he made at Rika and her mother's inn. He must have figured that Zoro didn't have much time before Helmepo followed through with his threat.

Knowing this now, I wasted no more time with talking, and began trying to undo the ropes holding Zoro prisoner.

"What are you doing?" Zoro asked me, as I ignored him.

"What's it look like? I'm getting you out of here. Seeing as Luffy, Coby, and I are all here _breaking_ the law, they just might move the execution up to today, and add our heads to their list." I said, as focused all of my concentration on my task. "Not to mention that I'm going to need help to make sure we all get out of this base alive. Weather you do that as a bounty hunter or a pirate is your business though."

When the knots began getting tighter, I muttered a curse under my breath, as I stepped back from them. Seeing my trouble with it, Coby moved forward to give them a shot.

"Regardless of weather or not you join Luffy's crew, he planned on getting you out of here anyway. After Helmepo bragged about having you executed, Luffy got so mad that he knocked him flat on his ass." I explained, figuring that while we free him, it's probably also best to catch Zoro up to what's going on. At my words, Zoro looked shocked once more.

"Did he now." he said, as I nodded my head yes.

"Damn right he did. I'm a blacksmith, so I'm a bit stronger than your average girl, but even I plus Coby had trouble keeping Luffy from beating that bitch black and blue for his insolence." I said, as I crossed my arms. "To be honest, I was even considering slitting his throat myself. Consequences be damned. But that plan was out, seeing how it would have been difficult to put a stop to this in a cell or tied up out here with you." I finished, as I remembered that I could just slice the ropes off Zoro instead of untying him.

 _I've been around Luffy too long, I'm catching his stupid_. I thought sourly, as I nudged Coby back, reaching a hand down to my boot to pull out one of my daggers.

"Try to hold still." I warned Zoro, as I moved to place my dagger against one of the ropes. However, before I could so much as make the first slice, I heard what sounded like the hammer of a gun being pulled back.

Sensing the danger, I backed away from Zoro, and pulled out my other dagger, as I turned to face the barrels of several guns aimed in our direction. Seeing that rushing in would be suicide, I held a ready grip on my daggers, and placed my feet in a position that would allow me to react at a moments notice. I know it's useless against a gun, but I won't just lay down and die.

"Hold it right there!" A voice thundered from behind the marines, as a big guy holding an axe on his shoulder move forward.

 _No, not holding the axe on his shoulder, holding his_ Axe-Hand _on his shoulder._ I thought bitterly, as he came to a stop in the middle of the ranks of his men.

"For the crime of treason against me, I sentence the three of you to die where you stand." he said, as I rolled my eyes.

"You're _Axe-Hand Morgan_ , I presume." I said, as the bastard narrowed his beady eyes at me.

"That's _Captain_ to you little girl. Not that it matters anymore. This poorly planned coup you've got going with that boy, the Straw Hat brat and that swordsman ends now." Morgan snapped, as a smirk I didn't quite like appeared on his face. "Ready men!" he shouted, as the marines he brought with him, raised their guns, and pulled back the hammers.

Seeing this, I felt my heart begin to race, as Coby let out a squeak of pure fear. Even Zoro looked unsettled by this turn of events. Not that I could blame either of them. Luffy was somewhere in the base, too far away to even so much as attempt to help us. We were going to die…

 _Nami. Nojiko. Genzo. Bellemere. Everyone. I'm sorry._ I thought in despair, as Morgan waved his hand forward to give the signal to put us out of our misery.

"Fire!"

Closing my eyes, I waited to feel the bullets tear through my flesh as I heard the guns go off. Yet the pain never came.

"Luffy!" I heard Coby call in worry, as I opened my eyes to see Luffy standing between the marines, and Coby, Zoro, and I; parts of his body being stretched back towards us with the bullets the marines had meant for us. Only for them to be sent flying right back at the marines. One of them, much to my satisfaction, grazed Morgan's cheek as it passed. Out of all of them, this was the only injury.

Letting out an exhilarated laugh, Luffy just threw his arms up in the air in his excitement.

"That won't work on me!" Luffy said in a sing song voice, as he turned to look back at the three of us. "You guys alright?" He asked, as I looked down at the rest of me. Not feeling any sort of pain, I looked back up and nodded my head yes. Coby gave the same answer as well.

As for Zoro though, he had the same expression as before, only he looked a little more freaked out though.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked Luffy.

Turning to face him, Luffy gave him that monkey grin of his again.

"Oh me? I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be the king of the pirates." Luffy introduced himself, as Zoro jerked as far back as he was able to while tied up.

" _King of the pirates_? I thought you were nuts before, but clearly you're out of your mind. Do you even know what that means!?" Zoro demanded, as Luffy regarded him with that same smile.

"King of the pirates means king of the pirates. How can it mean anything else?" he asked sarcastically, as Zoro kept giving him a _you're crazy_ look.

"He's serious by the way." I told Zoro, who turned this look towards me. "I had the same reaction you did when I first heard it too, but so far I can see that he's really determined to find One Piece, and to become the pirate king."

Considering my words, Zoro looked from me to Coby, who nodded his head yes to confirm my words. At Coby's answer to his unspoken question, Zoro still looked undecided. Shrugging my shoulders at this, I ignored the warning look Zoro gave me as I stabbed my two daggers into the post Zoro was tied to in order to pull my hair back into a pony tail. Luffy had interrupted our execution by firing squad for now, but that doesn't mean we aren't about to get into a serious fight though.

With that thought, I even pulled off my long black coat, and tossed it on the ground behind Zoro. Feeling better knowing that I couldn't be trapped because of my hair or clothes, I pulled my daggers from the wood and got ready once more.

As I did that, Luffy grabbed the three swords he carried on his back, and held them out towards a still tied up Zoro. It was on the tip of my tongue to point this out to my oblivious friend, but the words died when I sensed an aura coming from one of the three swords.

The white sword. It felt like a powerful aura, but muddled. Like it was a sleeping lion or something. And if I didn't know any batter, then I'd say that I'd recognized that sword from somewhere before. The question was where?

"Here's what I promised you." Luffy stated, bringing me back to myself. "Helmepo passed out before he could tell me which of these three swords was yours, so I brought all of them."

Upon seeing his swords, Zoro began squirming around in the ropes that still held him.

"All three belong to me. I use _Santoryu_." Zoro told him, as I was reminded of the rumors that the great pirate hunter was able to wield three swords. I didn't believe them though, because how can someone hold more than two swords at a time. Putting one in their mouth? The pressure behind a strong blow would just end up breaking your jaw.

 _I guess we'll get to see if I'm about to be proven wrong._ I thought, as I noticed Luffy and Coby's confused faces.

" _Three Sword Style_ techniques, huh?" I said, as understanding finally dawned on the other two's faces.

Holding them out towards Zoro, Luffy turned his monkey grin into an evil smirk.

"Here, take them. Just know that if you fight your way out of here with me, the marines will consider you a criminal. Or if you don't, you'll end up being executed." Luffy told him, offering him a choice as Zoro gave him a dark smirk of his own. One that fit in well with his intimidating look, I noticed with a bit of irritation.

"What are you? _Demon spawn_? I've got no choice but to join so I don't end up dead. So untie me, and let's do this." Zoro chose, as Luffy immediately broke out into a celebratory dance.

"YES! I finally have my first crew member! This is the best day ever!" Luffy shouted, as Zoro gave him a withering look.

"Would you stop celebrating for two seconds and untie me already!?" Zoro growled at him, with good reason too, seeing as the marines were coming out of their shock.

"Fine, if the guns won't work, then we use swords!" I heard Morgan order, as the marines all drew their sabers and began charging at us.

Glancing over at Zoro, I spotted Luffy trying to untie him like Coby and I did earlier. And like us, he wasn't being very successful either.

"Luffy, you might want to hurry." Coby urged him, as Luffy stopped what he was doing to sratch his head.

"That's funny, the knots got tighter." I heard him mumble.

"Give me one of my fucking swords now!" Zoro demanded, as I rolled my eyes.

"OH, for the love of all that's holy!" I sighed loudly in exasperation, as I then proceeded to shove Luffy out of the way. Telling Zoro to hold still, I then sliced my knife against the back of the post holding his right arm captive. Now that he had one arm free, I snatched one of his swords from Coby; who had been holding them while Luffy tried to untie Zoro, drew it and put it in Zoro's free hand. Right away, Zoro sliced the rope over his other arm off, as I cut through the rope holding his waist to the post.

Our team effort left us with just enough time for Zoro to arm himself with his remaining two swords, and to block _all_ of the sabers about to come down upon all of our heads.

While I was impressed with the strength he showed in his ability to hold off that many guys at once, what shocked me the most was how many swords he had blocked with the one he wielded in his _mouth_.

 _Okay, remind me to never play the biting game with this guy_. I mentally noted, as I watched the scene before me unfold.

"Wow! That's so awesome!" Luffy gushed, as I turned to see a very similar expression to my own on his face. Coby, as per usual in these situations, looked like he was about to faint right there on the spot.

Hearing a squeak coming from behind Zoro, I turned back around to see two marines looking like they were about to piss their pants. Zoro must have heard it too, because he gave the two one look before narrowing his eyes dangerously at them.

"Make one move, and I'll kill you." he told them, with a clearer voice than what I was expecting, as they began crying out of fright. Satisfied that the marines he was holding back wouldn't move until he did, Zoro glanced back at Luffy.

"From today on, I'll be known as a criminal now that I've fought the marines. So in light of that, I'll join you and become a pirate, that I can promise you. But there's one thing I want you to know. So long as I sail with you, the only thing I'll dedicate myself to is my life's ambition." Zoro warned Luffy, who remained excited.

"Which is?" He asked eagerly.

"I'll become no less than the greatest swordsman." Zoro said, as he narrowed his eyes at Luffy. "But if I have to give that up along the way, then you get to take responsibility for it. After which you'll have no choice but to apologize to me."

Taking the underlying threat in stride, Luffy just kept that monkey like grin on his face.

" _Worlds greatest swordsman_ , huh?" Luffy echoed, as he nodded his head once. "Well, the king of the pirates wouldn't have anyone less on his crew."

At this, Zoro let a grin of his own stretch across his lips.

"You sure talk a big game." Zoro remarked, "Not that it matters, because as a pirate or not, I will spread my name throughout the world."

At the words being exchanged, Coby just held a small smile for them. As a kid with a big dream of his own, I guess he could relate to an extent.

As for me, soon as those words had left Zoro's mouth.

To say that I was shocked, was an understatement. Yes, Zoro was a strong fighter already, but he wanted to become even stronger. Stronger than the current holder of the title of the best there is out there. And I sincerely hoped that Zoro had the determination and conviction required to face such an opponent. The best swordsman of this pirate age wasn't someone you simply fought feint heartedly, or to test yourself.

I've never seen or met the one known of the best, but I've kept tabs on the news and rumors I've heard of him. My biggest source of information I got on him came from a man who faced him, and he spared on a whim.

But not before dishing out a heavy price.

The man I spoke with sustained many nasty wounds form his fight with this man, and even crippled the poor bastard beyond the point of never being able to pick up a sword every again. Up until that event in his life, he had been one of my regular clients. Not long after the last time I spoke with him, I received word that he had taken is own life.

The note he left behind said that the way of the sword was his life, and that he couldn't bare to live another second with his shame of defeat.

With this thought in mind, it was on the tip of my tongue to call them both insane, but I bit it back. I didn't even know why I cared anyway. Luffy and whatever crew he put together while I sailed with them wouldn't be anything more than a means to an end. Passage for my assistance, that's it. My being here with them was all just business.

So why did the thought put pens and needles through my heart?

Before I could ponder this question any further, a very angry voice boomed across the yard at the marines being held in place by fear at Zoro's mercy.

"What the hell are you idiots doing!" Morgan roared at them, fury clear as day. "Don't just stand there like frightened cowards and kill them already! I will not tolerate this weakness!" he ordered them.

His men on the other hand, they just had to take one more look at Zoro's intense glare for their self-preservation to kick in again.

However, it was Luffy who made the next move, rather than the marines or Zoro.

"You might wanna duck." he warned, as Zoro widened his eyes in a shock, while the marines died inside. Lifting up one of his legs, Luffy kicked at the air sideways, allowing his rubbery limb to stretch out. " _GUM-GUM WHIP!_ "

And much like a whip, all the marines were thrown off of Zoro who decided to follow Luffy's advice once he caught on. Now that all the weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Zoro stood up to his full height for the first time in weeks if memory served right. Not only that, but I could tell that he was a good deal taller than me. If I were to stand next to him, I'd have to go slightly up on my toes just to be able to place my chin on his shoulder.

Not that I would do such a thing anyway. That's just an observation only.

 _I'm really glad Nami isn't here. Else she'd be grilling me big time for looking at a pirate. Well, bounty hunter turning pirate…_ I thought with dismay.

Giving myself a good shake, I focused on our up coming fight. Glancing over my own shoulder, I checked to see if Coby was alright. To my relief, he had already hidden himself behind the post Zoro had been attached to a few moments ago. Figuring that this was probably the best place for him, I let Coby be.

"Okay, what the hell are you?" I heard Zoro ask Luffy, as I turned back around to face them and the marines.

"Just a guy who ate the Gum-Gum fruit." Luffy answered, as Zoro furrowed his brown in confusion. That white sword still in his mouth.

"What the hell is a _Gum-Gum_ fruit?" Zoro asked.

Walking forward, I put the dagger in my right hand with the one on my left, and grabbed the side of Luffy's cheek. Once I had it, I pulled it away from his face. Much to the horror of the marines and the disturbance of my new comrade.

"Devil fruit that turned him into a _rubber_ _person_ for lack of a better word." I explained, as I let go of Luffy's face so it could snap back into place. The force of it making Luffy teeter from side to side a few times before stilling.

"So Straw Hat has devil fruit powers." I heard Morgan say, as his men glanced back at him from where they were getting up off the ground.

"Captain, we don't stand a chance against that guy then. Hell, Zoro took us out on his own." one of the marines said, as a few others nodded their heads in agreement. "Yeah, they're insane!" Another said, as Morgan's face darkened with more of his fury.

"Here's a direct order, every marine who just showed weakness; I want you to pull out your gun, put it to your head, and pull the trigger. My command has no use for weak soldiers!" he shouted, turning some of the worried soldiers from scared to angry.

Hearing these words myself, I couldn't help but scoff.

"Oh please. The only weak person I see here is a marine captain who can't do anything right but bully, terrify, and _murder_ his loyal men, and the innocent lives of those he's sworn to protect." I said, as Morgan's face began to turn red with how pissed off he was becoming.

"Your execution has already been ordered bitch. If you fall to your knees and beg for my forgiveness for your insolence, I may reconsider making your death an excruciatingly painful ordeal." Morgan whispered, as I turned hardened eyes his way.

" _Beg_ _for forgiveness_ …" I echoed, tossed my dagger back to my right hand as I flipped my dagger so that it's blade rested in my palm. Giving it a thoughtful look, I then threw it with as much strength as my arm could muster in that bastard's direction, as quickly as I could.

The action had been so sudden, that Morgan nor his men knew what was happening until a red line appeared on Morgan's other cheek, and he let out a grunt of pain as blood began to run from the fresh wound. Once again, I felt satisfaction, but even more so as Morgan reached a hand up to cover the wound. A bit more sadistic, but hey, Luffy isn't the only one with some impressive moves ya know.

"Listen, and listen well you tyrannical, egotistical, fucking asshole. I _**don't**_ beg anything of _**anyone**_. You got that?" I said, as I bared my teeth at him, almost like a wild animal no one wanted to mess with. "If anyone needs to get down on their knees and beg for forgiveness, then it's a bastard like you." I growled at him, as a dark smile of my own reached my face. "A bastard who became something just as evil as the big bad Captain Kuro you took down a few years back."

By now, Morgan's face began to look purple. All I had to do from this point, was widen my smirk to put him over the boiling point.

" _KILL THEM! AND START WITH THAT DAMN GIRL!_ " Morgan roared, but before anyone could so much as do as he had ordered, Luffy charged forward. Dodging every marines that stood between him and his target, Luffy's fist found purchase on the flat side of the blade attached to Morgan's right hand. Bastard got lucky seeing as he moved to block just in time.

"You rankless, no life idiots! How dare you challenge the authority of Captain Axe-Hand Morgan!?" he demanded, as he pulled his sleeveless navy coat off, tossing it off to the side to flutter to the ground. It barely hit the dirt before Morgan swung his massive axe at Luffy's head.

Dodging it with ease, much like he had with Alvida's club, Morgan missed Luffy again and again. Taking the axe up over his head, Morgan then tried to land a devastating blow to Luffy, who jumped at the last second, missing the axe and causing Morgan to split the ground below him.

"Asuna's my friend, don't talk about her like that!" Luffy shouted at him, as he used his height and momentum to land a double footed kick to Morgan's face, effectively knocking him off of his feet. Rolling with the blow, Morgan was able to get back on his feet, but by then the damage had already been done. His men saw it all, and whispered among themselves as Luffy landed on his own feet nearby.

Full of humiliation and rage, Morgan went right back to trying to slice and dice Luffy with his axe. Missing each time.

As this went on, I felt a subtle pang in my heart for the second time today. After I refused multiple times to join Luffy's crew, and made it clear that I had no intentions of sticking around, Luffy still called me his friend. With how long Nami and I have been alone over the years, I found myself wanting to return Luffy's sentiment.

Yet, the thought alone had me thinking through all of the possible ways Arlong would think of to kill him. Bullets won't work on Luffy, but if Arlong finds out he uses a devil fruit, he'd use Luffy's greatest weakness against him.

So I wouldn't deny Luffy's claim at being my friend, but I can't recognize it. And that _hurt_.

Not that I let any of my inner turmoil show on my face. Coby doesn't know either, nor will he ever. Same goes for Zoro too.

" _Now die!_ " I heard Morgan yell, as he tried once again to split Luffy in half from above. This time however, Luffy threw himself into a spin. When he came out of it, he landed another powerful kick to Morgan's face. This time though, Morgan didn't get back up.

Not that this stopped Luffy, who grabbed him by the front of the shirt and began pummeling him, yelling how he was a disappointment to Coby's dream of becoming a marine. Something I whole heartedly agreed with. To be honest, I prefer Coby's version of a marine, over what the real deal in many cases is. I just hope seeing the truth of my words from earlier in the day doesn't cause him to turn from the path he wants.

As for the rest of the marines, they watched in morbid fascination as their captain was in the process of being defeated.

Due to this, Zoro and I were left without any fun of our own. Hell, Zoro even took the time to drop this white sword into his hand from his mouth. Crossing my arms over my chest, I made sure to mind my remaining dagger as I did so. When the fight was over, I'd retrieve the other one from where it stuck up from the ground behind the marines.

"How many punches do you think he feels like throwing?" I asked Zoro, who shrugged.

"On a normal day, I'd stand back and enjoy the show, but at the moment I hope he won't be too much longer. I'm starving." he answered, as I heard a feint growl coming from Zoro. Who was too tired and fatigued to really care at the moment I might add, to be embarrassed. Not that I minded. After all, he's been out here without food and water for a long time.

We watched Luffy throw a few more punches, before the sound of a gun being readied to fire caused Zoro and I to tense up. Looking back behind me, Zoro doing the same, I found a gun barrel pointing point blank at Coby's head via a very shaky Helmepo.

"Hey Straw Hat, cut that out and look at what I've got!" Helmepo shouted, only for Luffy to continue what he was doing as if he hadn't heard anything. This only caused Helmepo to get more upset.

"Hey, if you'd pay attention, you'll see that I have a hostage!" He squeaked, only for Luffy to ignore him again.

Glancing over his shoulder, Zoro caught Luffy's eye before Helmepo could decide to do something stupid. "Hey. Take a look." Zoro called over to him, as Luffy finally stopped.

"If you make one more move, I'll shoot your scrawny little friend, I swear!" Helmepo threatened, as Zoro, Luffy, and I all stood perfectly still. Coby on the other hand, was shaking about as bad as Helmepo was. The most Luffy did after that, was give Coby his signature grin. At this, Coby stopped shaking.

"Luffy, no matter what happens to me, don't let anything stop you! Even if it means I die!" Coby shouted, as Luffy held up an arm.

"You hear that you dumbass? Coby's ready to die at your hand." Luffy said, as he began to take a few steps towards them. Helmepo repeating his threat as he did so.

Getting an idea of what he was doing,I sheathed my dagger and I made sure Helmepo's focus was completely on Luffy before I edged my way to the other side of Zoro.

"Asuna, what are you-?" Zoro went to ask, but I shushed him. If Helmepo sees me move, he could take that as a threat. If Luffy was going to hit him, then I didn't want that gun anywhere near Coby's head. I also didn't want to give Helmepo a chance to try and dodge Luffy's punch either. So, I'm going to lend a hand. I was getting bored anyway.

Moving forward, I sensed that Morgan was getting back up, if the killer intent he was giving off was anything to go by; but I wasn't really worried about that, Luffy had his new crew member at his back after all. Right as Luffy went to pull his fist back, I made it to Helmepo.

Charging at him from behind, I grabbed the wrist that held the gun and pushed it up towards the sky, and used my foot to kick Coby to the ground just as it went off. After the shot had been fired, I twisted Helmepo's wrist hard enough to break it, making him drop the gun as well. Just in time for Luffy to throw the same attack that sent Alvida way out into the sea at Helmepo. Letting the force form the punch pull him from my grasp, I then turned to watch as Zoro not only blocked Morgan's shady attack at Luffy's back, but cut him down as well.

Once I was sure Morgan was down and officially out, I turned to check on Coby.

"You alright?" I asked him, holding out a hand for him to grab onto. Doing so, I helped the poor kid back on his feet.

"Yeah, but what about you? I thought Helmepo had hit you instead of me there for a second." Coby asked, worried.

"Didn't even touch me." I reassured him, as I glanced back at Helmepo's unconscious form. "But he's going to have a busted up wrist for a while."

"Yeah… Thanks for saving me." he thanked, as I brushed it off like always.

With that being said, Coby and I then made our way back to where Zoro stood with Luffy. Seeing that we were fine, Luffy and Zoro both turned to face the rest of the marines. Sheathing his swords one by one, Zoro then gave the marines their favorite glare. It didn't really phase them this time, seeing as their focus was still on their thoroughly defeated captain and his spawn.

"If anymore of you cowards want's to fight us, then step forward." Zoro said, as the marines all looked at each other. After a moment, they picked up their hats, sabers, and guns; but not to fight. Instead, they tossed them up in the air in celebration.

Their tyrant was beaten, and weak enough for them to arrest for the very first time. Much like the rest of the island will do once word gets out.

"Wow, they're all happy now." Luffy commented, as Coby smiled himself.

"They must have been under his iron rule for a long time. I'd be celebrating too if I were in their shoes." Coby said, as I nodded my head once in agreement.

"Years from what Rika's dad said when I spoke with him." I said, as I gave a small smile of my own.

We didn't get to say much else on the topic after that though, because a sudden thud had us looking over at Zoro, who was now sprawled out on his back.

Becoming worried, Coby, Luffy, and I all crowded around him to see what was wrong.

"Zoro! Are you okay?" Coby freaked out, as I waved my hands in front of Zoro's face. When he looked up at us, I quit.

"What's wrong?" I asked him for the three of us.

"So… Hungry…" Zoro muttered out, as I rolled my eyes at the dramatics. Of course Zoro would be weakened from hunger. He probably hadn't had a decent nights sleep, or proper shower for a long time either. All the energy left him once we began fighting.

"Alright then, let's get out of there then." Luffy said, as he reached down to grab one of Zoro's arms. Deciding to help out, I grabbed the other so that Luffy and I could haul him up together. Seeing as we were both a shorter than him, we ended up having to drag Zoro's feet behind us as we made our way to the exit.

"Okay, where are we going to go with him then?" Coby asked, as Luffy thought about it for about two seconds before shrugging his shoulders. Thinking it over, I thought of one place we could go.

"We could go to the inn where Rika and her mom work. Soon as they see the state Zoro's in, I'm sure they'll help us out." I suggested, as Zoro looked over at me.

"I don't want to impose." he muttered, being your typical stubborn swordsman about it.

"Oh, shush. I'm not planning on taking advantage of them. I've got enough berries for us to stay at least a night or two." I told them. Being as tired as he was, Zoro just didn't argue any further.

With there not being anymore objections, we continued onwards.

….…

And here is my re-written chapter 2 for my fan fiction. I hoped you guys enjoyed it, and I'm off to do some more writing. Have fun!

….….

Chapter 3 - Reunited


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Reunited

"Really, she came through here?" I asked the clerk of the most expensive clothing store I could find in town.

"Yep. She had me pull out my most expensive products, talked me down to practically giving half of it away. Ended up being short in my budget this week because of her." the woman said, before she gave me a criticizing look. "What did you say your relation to her was again?" she asked, as I knew what was about to happen next.

"I'm just someone who was asked to track her down." I lied. I hated lying really, but I couldn't afford to have her call the authorities on me over something so stupid. After all, she was the idiot who budged when Nami began her bargaining shit.

"Oh, well. It's not like it broke me anyway. I'm sorry I couldn't be any more help to you honey." she said, as I nodded my head once at her.

"Yeah. Thanks." I told her, as I turned to leave.

Once I was out of the store, I turned to look up at the base. It's funny how much lighter the townsfolk seems now that Morgan has been removed from power. Soon as Morgan was thrown into a jail cell, the next commanding officer within their ranks made a huge report to headquarters. They were then thrilled to learn that they would soon get a commanding officer transfer, as well as a prisoner transfer to get Morgan off the island.

Word traveled fast as they say, seeing as this all took place within the last few hours.

Turning to face the harbor, I began making my way back towards the inn. There, Rika's mom was gracious enough to feed us on the house. Zoro was very grateful for that. As for Luffy, he showed his appreciation through eating every bite given to him. Coby and I had something light though. After the days events, Coby had simply gone through too many emotions to really feel hungry.

As for me, I don't eat much anyway. Sad part of how I was tortured.

I mean raised.

Or I guess you could say it was tortured _and_ raised.

 _I'm too cynical for my own good_. I thought dryly, as I pushed through the crowd of people standing outside the inn to get to the open door. Inside, Luffy was still stuffing his face. While Zoro was leaned back in his chair with a lethargic smile on his face.

"I'm stuffed. Damn, three weeks into that shit and I was about ready to eat through my boots." Zoro said, rubbing his stomach.

Luffy on the other hand, gave him an incredulous look.

"What, you're finished already? Such a lightweight." Luffy mocked, as Zoro gave him a half glare.

"How can you have a bigger appetite than someone who hasn't eaten in weeks?" Zoro questioned him, as Luffy shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. It just tastes so good." Luffy answered, spit and small chunks of food flying all over the place.

"That's just a Luffy thing. On our way to this island, _this_ dumb ass decided to blow through all of our food supplies within five minutes." I said, announcing my arrival, as I nudged Luffy's chair with my boot.

"Did he now." Zoro said, as I nodded my head once. Giving Luffy a small glare at the memory, I couldn't really hide the smile when he paled just a bit.

"Yeah, Asuna threatened to turn him into monkey bread if we ended up getting lost in a storm and starving as a result." Coby said, as Luffy began looking at his food, and nothing but his food.

Snorting at this, Zoro grabbed the glass of water we've been keeping near him since we got him settled into a chair and took a drink.

"I'll have to keep that in mind. When we set sail again." Zoro said, as he put the glass down.

"You're not the only one going to be watching out for the food." I told him, as he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Wait, I thought you said you weren't a part of the crew." Zoro said, as I nodded my head yes.

"No, I'm not. Luffy and I made an agreement. In exchange for helping me get to the island my sister is on, I've agreed to assist Luffy however I can. Short of becoming a pirate and joining his crew of course." I explained, as I suddenly found a fork pointed directly at my nose.

"And once we do find your sister, you'll join my crew. Right, Asuna?" Luffy reinstated, as I used two fingers to push the fork away from my face.

"I said I'd think about it until then, and then I'll give you my answer." I corrected him. Giving me a questioning glance, Luffy thankfully let my statement stand. Deciding to back out now before he thought better of it, I moved away from the table to the bar. Going behind it, I grabbed my bag from where I had stashed it. Seeing me, Rika's mother gave me a kind smile.

"I had a feeling that bag was yours." she said, as I gave her a small nod.

"Yeah. Thanks for keeping an eye on it, and I apologize for imposing." I said, as she waved my apology off.

"Oh, don't worry about it. You helped me and mine out more than once today, so that was the least I can do." she said, as she nodded towards the pot of delicious stew she had been standing over when I came in. "Now that, that is settled, would you like something to eat?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, thank you." I told her, as she went about fixing me a bowl. When it was made, I then took it to the table Zoro and Luffy were still sitting at. Sitting down, I wasted no more time before I dug in.

"Oh wow, this is really good." I said, pausing for just a moment before taking another bite. I wasn't a really big soup or stew kind of girl, but on this I had to agree with Luffy.

"Isn't it though!?" Luffy said, as Zoro nodded in agreement. Even Coby gave a bit of a smile.

"It is… Thanks for fixing this for us." Coby said, as he turned to address Rika's mom.

"You're all quite welcome. It's my pleasure to do something for the four brave souls who saved the town." Rika's mother said, as Rika beamed a huge smile over at Luffy.

"You're definately the most amazing man I've ever met!" she said, as Luffy returned her smile. Plus chewed up bits of food, of course.

"I know…" he answered, thought he managed to keep all of the food in his mouth this time. "But I'll be even more amazing once I become king of the pirates, and have the one piece."

Passing my spoon to my left hand, I rose my right to gently knock Luffy up side the head.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." I scolded him, as Luffy gave me a surprised look as I went back to eating. Thankfully, he shut his trap in order to finish chewing and swallow like a proper person would before he looked over at Zoro. "Oh, and the best crew on the seas."

At this, Zoro sat up in his chair, and regarded Luffy with a bit of a curious look on his face.

"Speaking of which, I know that Asuna here isn't on the crew, so how many others have you gathered?" Zoro asked, as I nearly choked on my stew from laughter. Boy, he was not going to like the answer to that. Other than a raised eyebrow in my direction, Zoro waited for Luffy's answer.

By now he had taken another bite of food, and before he could utter a word, I cleared my throat in warning. Not wanting to be scolded again, Luffy swallowed before he answered his _oblivious first mate_.

"Other than trying to get Asuna to join, it's just you." Luffy answered him, as Zoro became stunned.

"Wait, what!? Just-" Zoro began, but in becoming speechless, he wasn't able to finish his sentence. So he just pointed first to Luffy, then to himself.

"Yep, just us. And like Asuna said before, she's going to be sailing with us for a bit. At least until I convince her to join." Luffy said, giving me a look like I had kicked his puppy or something.

Ignoring that, Zoro quickly replaced his shock with seriousness.

"So the two of us, plus Asuna _for now_ , is what amounts to your pirate crew?" Zoro asked, as Luffy nodded his head.

"Yeah, we're a couple of strong guys, and Asuna knows how to read a map decently enough." he said, continuing to eat between sentences.

"Okay, but please tell me you already have a ship." Zoro said, as Luffy simply just pointed a fork full of fish towards the window.

"Yep, its the one in the harbor with the doggy." Luffy answered, as Zoro got up from his seat to take a look himself.

"Yeah, more like a boat." I muttered under my breath, as I finished off my stew soon afterwards.

"You've gotta be frickin' kidding me." I heard Zoro say, as I turned to see him leaning on the side of the window sill. "That's our _ship_?" he asked, a _what have I gotten myself into_ expression on his face.

"Nope!" Luffy replied, the sarcasm of Zoro's words going right over his head. "But, we'll have a really big ship before long, just you wait and see."

With a snort, Zoro turned away from the window to focus on Luffy.

"Oh really, and how is that gonna happen?" he asked, only for Luffy to ignore him.

"One with a really big pirate flag on top." Luffy continued, as he put another bite of fish in his mouth. Kid looked about a thousand miles away, probably picturing what the ship he wanted would look like.

At Luffy's answer, Zoro began to get what I figured would be the first of the many headaches his new captain would soon give him. Seeing this, Coby gave Zoro a sympathetic look.

"I think Luffy's brain didn't develop the ability to plan for things like the rest of us." he said, trying to cheer the swordsman up.

"Yeah, he tends to just go with the flow. You'll definitely have your work cut out for you." I told him, as Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose in mental pain.

"How the hell did I get suckered into having him as my captain." Zoro muttered, as Luffy got a look of mock hurt.

"Hey, we'll have more crew members in no time. I'm sure I'll convince Asuna to join, and few others along the way." Luffy said, as Zoro sighed heavily. Poor guy probably couldn't wait for others to join up, maybe then Luffy wouldn't drive him as crazy as he would being the sole crew member.

"Hey Luffy." Rika began, as she moved to stand closer to Luffy. "Where will you and your crew be sailing off to next?" she asked him, as Luffy got a big smile.

"Wait, you mean it's not obvious?" Luffy asked, as his smile grew bigger. "We'll be sailing towards the Grand Line of course."

Seeing as we discussed this subject on the way to the island, I wasn't really surprised by Luffy's answer. Coby on the other hand, took a drink of juice and about choked on it when those words left Luffy's mouth. Even Zoro's expression changed slightly at the news.

"No, wait! You only have two members for your crew, and a dingy for a ship! There's no way you're properly equiped to handle the Grand Line yet Luffy!" Coby protested, as Rika's mother handed him a napkin to wipe his face with.

As for Rika herself, she turned to look at him with child-like curiosity.

"Wow. I've heard of the Grand Line before, but I never knew that it was such an awful place." she said, as Coby finished wiping his face and looked down at what was left of his drink.

"It's even worse than what you're thinking." Coby told her, on the brink of another panic attack. Rolling my eyes at this, I turned to look over at a still very confused Rika.

"To put it plain and simple, this world has two major oceans. These two oceans are divided by a single land mass. Sailors and pirates alike call this land mass the Red Line. In the middle of the Red Line is a city that is rather unique according to legend. It's unique because this place not only exists on the Red Line, but also in the Grand Line as well. The Grand Line cuts through this city, and it's waters run a complete circle around the world. It's also rumored to be the city where the former king of the pirates left his world famous treasure, _Once Piece_. The treasure said to contain all the world has to offer, or some nonsense of that sort." I explained, as Rika's eyes widened in wonder. A look Luffy shared as well. "Those of us who live in the four blues see these waters as the Pirate's Graveyard because many who had set sail in that sea never returned. And those that did, were never known to be the same again." I explained, as understanding dawned on the little girl's face.

"I've actually heard some stories about it from customers who were passing through this town." Rika's mother said as she glanced over at me. "And what they have to say is pretty similar to what you just said Asuna."

"Well your customers, while they more than likely were repeating rumors, may not be so far from the truth. According to my sister, those waters are known to be highly unpredictable and tricky to navigate for even the most seasoned navigator. So it's not someplace you want to go half heartedly." I agreed, as Luffy finally finished eating.

"If all of that is so, then that's too bad. The Grand Line is where they say the One Piece is, so that's where we're going." Luffy stated.

"A ship goes where the captain says, so we'll just have to live with it." Zoro said, backing Luffy up.

"Wait! You can't agree!" Coby protested once more, hopping off his bar stool. In his eyes, I could see the worry he had for us.

"Why not?" Zoro asked him. "You're not coming with us are you?" He asked him, causing Coby to freeze up where he stood.

"No… But is it so wrong for me to care about the three of you?" Coby answered, as he calmed himself. "Asuna, Luffy, and I haven't been friends for years or anything, but I still see the three of us as friends. Aren't we?" he finished, uncertainty in his voice.

At this, Luffy grinned at him.

"Of course we are! We might have to part ways, but we'll always be friends." Luffy answered him, as he turned to glance at me. "Right, Asuna?"

At his words, I felt my heart clench. I know I've thought of it before, but as much as I would like to, I can't outright call Coby and Luffy my friend. The claim and title would be dangerous for them to carry. Yet, the look in Coby's expression. The hope, the uncertainty that I saw there, I couldn't bring myself to crush one and elevate the other…

"Yeah." I lied, praying that no one would catch on.

Luckily for me, Luffy was a bit too oblivious to notice. Coby's expression filled with the false hope I had given him, so he missed it as well. As for Zoro on the other hand, I saw a bit of suspicion. It didn't stick around though, so maybe he feels that he doesn't know me well enough to determine if I meant that or not. If that is the case, then I'll have to jump ship as soon as I find Nami…

I was pulled out of my thoughts though, as Coby turned a bashful look towards his feet.

"You guys are the first real friends I've ever had. Growing up, I didn't have that; much less anyone who was willing to fight on my behalf. So I tried my best not to fight for anything. But you three taught me how to live for what I believe in. So, I've decided that I'm going to join the marines like I've always dreamed of for sure!" Coby stated, as he gave us a determined look.

However, Zoro crushed it with something even I hadn't thought about.

"If you want to join the marines, then don't you think you need to be a little more concerned with your situation?" he asked, as Coby's face fell. He and Luffy looked a little confused, but the meaning of Zoro's words dawned on me after a few seconds of examining them. Seeing it, he continued. "The marines have a top notch information gathering system. They'll find out about your time with Alvida sooner or later, and that will be the end of it for you."

At this, Coby didn't look like he wanted to believe it. He even opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off.

"He's got a point Coby." I said, as he focused on me instead. "Zoro use to be a bounty hunter, so I think he'll back me up when I say that bounty hunters use the information the marines have to better capture pirates and bandits." I said, as I glanced over at Zoro who nodded his head once.

"Yeah. I never really asked beyond their name, the ship they came off of, or group. Bastards are bad with their directions though." Zoro said, as I looked back at Coby.

"Their direction giving skills non withstanding; I use to take in a bounty if I went a stretch without selling any of the swords I make for money, but I never used the system to begin with. Mostly because I never took a poster and went on the hunt. Instead I would just hitch a ride on a pirate ship, and if they tried to force me into anything or attack me, I'd beat their asses and go collect the berries for their heads at the nearest marine base. Only reason I've heard of this information gathering system they have is because once I turned in some pirates, sometimes the marines would offer any new wanted posters they had on hand along with information on the targets." I explained as Coby's anger faded, and understanding lit up his eyes with the dose of cold reality he just took.

"I didn't think about that…" he all but whispered. "How am I going to join the marines with something like that?" he asked.

"Well, you were forced onto Alvida's ship. Maybe that and some insider information you can remember will help your case." I suggested. "I'm not sure if that or anything will be enough, but it's not a bad thing to keep in mind when they discover your past."

"I suppose." Coby said. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but the sound of several footfalls entering the inn had us falling silent and looking towards the door where three marines had just stepped in. Seeing them, I let my new sunglasses drop from where they had been sitting in my hair line to cover my eyes. Once again, I was happy to have purchased them.

"You there." The one walking up front said, as he moved closer to us.

Not sure if they were here to continue where we left off back at the base, or in peace, I slid back from the table slightly, and dropped hand to my lap. I didn't want to outright draw my blade, but I wanted to be cautious just in case. If it wasn't obvious by now, I don't trust marines, or anyone I don't know really. However, with the way the marines celebrated Morgan's downfall, I doubt he's here to start anything. Zoro tensed ever so slightly, so he must have had a similar idea.

When the marine was but a couple of feet from our table, he stopped and observed us for a few moments with his hands behind his back. After a few moments had past, he spoke.

"We've heard a rumor that brands you lot as pirates. Is this rumor true?" he asked, as Luffy gave him a small smile.

"Yeah. I just added my first crew member, so it just became official." Luffy answered, as the marine's head lowered just enough for his hat to cast a shadow over his eyes.

"I see…" the marine began, as regret entered his features. "While we appreciate your efforts in the removal of the tyrant who had us under his iron fist for so long, I regret that we must also ask you to move on from this island. Now that we know you are pirates, it would be a violation to our duty as marines to sit idly by while you reside on the island. However, out of respect for your actions here, and the fact that you were all civilians at Morgan's downfall, we will not be reporting this to headquarters." he said, as all sorts of protests erupted from the crowd that still stood outside of the inn.

Ignoring them, Luffy simply readjusted his hat as he stood. Thanking Rika's mother for the food, he reached for the cloth bag that had been sitting on the other side of the table, he turned to head towards the door. Zoro, now a part of Luffy's crew did the same with a bag of his own to carry. Provisions more than likely. Not wanting to be left behind, I grabbed my back pack, slung it over a shoulder, and began following the two out of the inn.

"Wait, you guys are leaving already?" Rika asked us, her face becoming sad.

"Yeah." Luffy answered as he passed her. Zoro gave her a small smile as he went by her with his three swords over his shoulder as well. As for me, I couldn't help but pausing long enough to ruffle her hair a little bit.

"Take care of yourself Rika, and listen to your mom, okay?" I told her, as she nodded her head once. Little thing had tears in her eyes, but she stayed strong as we said our goodbyes.

As for Coby, he stood where he had been standing when the marines had come in. We didn't say a word to him though, not to be mean, but because we didn't want the marines to have proof that we're the friends that we are. It would only complicate things considering how Luffy and Zoro just _officially_ became pirates. As Luffy had put it anyway. And while I'm not a pirate, I did fight back against the World Government with pirates, so I was probably viewed as no better.

Not that it looked like it was going to do any good though, considering the way the marine stopped Luffy just as he was to pass him by.

"Hold on." He said, as Luffy paused. The marine however, kept his focus on Coby. "Aren't you a pirate as well?" he asked him, as Coby went stiff as a statue.

"Well, I-uh… I…" Coby stuttered, as Luffy looked back over his shoulder. Sighing heavily, I tried to think of a way to nudge Coby in the right direction one last time before we left him here. But much just like it was back on Alvida's ship, Luffy beat me to it.

Seeing as the marine couldn't get Coby to talk straight, he looked over at Luffy.

"Is this one with you or not?" he asked, as Luffy turned around with the smile he had on his face from before.

"Well, what I can tell you is what he's been doing from the last two years or so." Luffy announced, as he handed Zoro the bag he was carrying. At Luffy's announcement, Coby unfroze long enough to turn around to give him a shocked and betrayed look. Ignoring it, Luffy went a little closer towards Coby.

"There was this really fat pirate lady, I think her name was Alvida."He continued, as Coby looked like he was about to panic, though he kept really calm about it for once. "She had this huge iron club she carried around, and she was ugliest woman I've ever seen in my life."

By now, Luffy had reached Coby's side. Lifting a finger, Luffy began poking the side of Coby's head. Not enough to hurt him, but he used enough force to make Coby's head tilt to that side.

"For two whole years, she forced this wimpy kid into being her cabin boy." Luffy said, as Coby became angry. It was after Luffy had poked him one last time for emphasis that I saw Coby do one thing I didn't think he'd be able to do.

Coby snapped.

The moment Coby's fist connected with Luffy's face, I understood why Luffy had been acting the way he was. It was all just a show for the marines. If they were to fight, then to the marines it would appear to be obvious that they weren't friends. To pull this off though, Luffy had to goad Coby into hitting him first.

And fight the two did. Well, Luffy just mainly beat up the kid a little bit. However, Luffy enjoys fighting a little too much, so after a few punches Zoro walked over to grab Luffy by the back of his shirt. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at how he was able to totally stop Luffy from advancing forward with one hand so easily though.

Earlier when it had taken both Coby and I, I could have stopped him on my own, but I would need to have a hold of Luffy with both hands and dig my heels into the floor.

"You've made your point, now let him fall to the ground." Zoro told Luffy as he ceased all movement.

"Enough!" The marine ordered, as he glared daggers at us. "It's clear that you aren't crew mates, so stop badgering the boy and take your leave already!"

Without another word, Luffy grabbed his straw hat from where it had fallen to the floor and put it back on his head. Once it was where it belonged, he took the bag he had originally been carrying from Zoro, and the three of us turned to leave once more.

Glancing over my shoulder one last time, I fought the urge to tell Coby goodbye. I hadn't known him long, but I had been looking after the kid for about two weeks after all. If I were free to make friends, then I would have been able to answer his question earlier without it having to be a lie.

As Luffy, Zoro, and I left, we stayed as silent as the crowd and the marines. It actually wasn't until we reached the harbor that we spoke.

"That was a pretty thin act you put on back there." Zoro teased as we reached our boat.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they saw through it. But I have faith in Coby, I'm sure he can handle things on his own." Luffy said, as I nodded my head in agreement.

"I agree. Yeah, you might have to bat him around a bit, but once you get him on the right path, Coby will stay on it." I said, as Luffy began untying the boat.

"Still, it's a fitting way to leave this place. Very pirate like." Zoro commented, as I chuckled under my breath a bit.

"Yeah, it sure is." Luffy agreed, as a familiar voice caught our attention.

Keeping a firm grip on the rope, Luffy turned with Zoro and I to see Coby standing further up the docks, saluting us of all things.

"Luffy! I can't ever thank you enough! You've done more for me than anyone ever has!" Coby thanked him, using a very _marine_ voice. At this, I couldn't help but smile. Luffy's little act was enough, and now Coby had joined the marines.

"I've never heard of a marine thanking a pirate before." Zoro said, a smile of his own on his face at the display. "Definitely one for the history books."

"Yeah, an illegal history book." I added, as Luffy giggled.

Coby remained in his salute while the three of us finished getting our supplies on our little boat, and got the sail and what not in order. We were being gently pulled out of the port by the wind as we looked back towards Coby. I had already gotten out the map and compass I always carried on me, but I just stayed where I was for the time being.

This would be the last time we saw Coby in a peaceful manner. Should Luffy and Zoro ever see him again, duty would demand that Coby try to arrest them. Me as well, not only by association with a pirate, but because of my well guarded secret. Speaking of which, I lifted my sunglasses to their new home in my hair line. The marines approaching the port behind Coby wouldn't be able to tell my eye color from this distance, so I felt that it was fine.

While I had been lost in my thoughts, Luffy had been waving goodbye to Coby, Rika and her mother as we sailed away.

"We'll meet again someday Coby!" Luffy called after him. By this time, the marines who had arrived at the inn had reached the port. However, what shocked the hell out of us, was the salute the entire squad gave us.

"Okay, far as that history book goes, make the marine plural." I said, as Zoro and Luffy both snorted.

The three of us watched the island as we sailed away from it. As I figured out our heading, we began to get a good wind in our sail, so the island shrank and disappeared into the horizon rather quickly. Once the island was gone, Luffy moved to the very front of the boat to watch the sunset that was descending upon us.

"I finally got to set sail with a pirate crew." I heard Luffy mutter. "I'll be pirate king, I just know it."

Hearing him, Zoro gave Luffy a curious stare.

"You're really obsessed with this pirate king business, is there some kind of story behind it? Or a reason?" Zoro asked him, as I quickly became curious as well.

"I've been wandering about that too. I know you said it was because you wanted to become king of the pirates back on Alvida's ship, but you never said how you got set on that path." I said, as Luffy glanced at us for a moment before turning back to the sea.

"There's no reason, it's just that I promised someone that I would." Luffy answered, as he clutched his straw hat closer to his head. "A really long time ago, I swore to someone that I would gather a crew, find the One Piece, and become king of the pirates. A story this straw hat knows well."

The rest of the night, Zoro and I listened to all the stories Luffy had to tell about his childhood back on his home island. Some were about the villagers, but Luffy didn't spend as much time on these stories as he did with the stories about the pirate crew who had claimed it as their temporary base at the time. He also revealed that it was from the captain of this pirate crew that he got his straw hat from.

Luffy spoke until he promptly passed out. Following suit, Zoro wasted no time in passing out either. As for myself, I got up just long enough to check our heading before I settled against my bag for the night. As I drifted off, I couldn't help but wonder just what sort of adventure tomorrow will be…

….….. Waking up the next morning, I discovered that the boys had already woken up. Zoro was watching the waves and our surroundings, while Luffy simply sat where he had been while telling his story, staring at his straw hat with a small smile.

Noticing this as well, Zoro turned to regard Luffy.

"I'd be careful with that if I were you. You were lucky I was able to catch that thing earlier." I heard him warn Luffy, who in turn pulled the hat down firmly on top of his head.

"Yeah, I was. Thanks, Zoro." Luffy thanked him, as I sat up.

"What happened?" I asked, as Luffy and Zoro both looked my way.

"Oh, hey Asuna." Luffy greeted, as Zoro nodded his head in a more silent greeting.

"A gust of wind nearly carried off Luffy's hat. Managed to catch it before this dumb ass could dive overboard to get it." Zoro explained, as he thrust a thumb in Luffy's direction. With his point made, Zoro then crossed his arms as he looked back at me. "And speaking of wind, we've been making good time for a while now. Sail hasn't been still since I woke up."

Stretching my arms up above my head, I absorbed what I was being told. When I was done, I reached into my bag for the spot my map and compass was usually located.

"Has anyone checked our heading this morning?" I asked, as I pulled my map and compass from my bag at last.

"No. I didn't know where you put it in your stuff." Zoro answered, while Luffy muttered something about us going in a mystery direction; though he couldn't tell if we were or not because he wasn't even able to read a map.

Putting his usual nonsense out of my mind, I pulled the single barrel we had on our small boat forward, I then spread my map out on top of it. Sitting my compass on top of that and the map, I then began trying to calculate our location with the direction we were headed. Much like when Coby, Luffy, and I had been on our way to try and recruit Zoro.

Luckily for us, we managed to remain on our heading throughout the night. Satisfied with this, I picked up my compass and rolled up the map. Putting the compass in my coat pocket, I then moved the barrel back into place. Then I realized something.

That barrel was incredibility _light_ ; and if my memory served me right, this barrel contained most of our food…

"Luffy." I called, as Luffy turned to look at me.

"Yeah Asuna, what's-" Luffy trailed off once he noticed just what I was standing over. "Up?" he asked becoming a bit nervous.

"Why is the barrel our food was in empty?" I asked him sickingly sweet.

At my tone, Luffy began looking anywhere but me. He even began whistling a little tune that sounded like "Binks' Brew". _Holy crap, can you be a worse liar?_ I thought to myself, as my irritation grew.

"Wait, all of our food's gone?" Zoro asked, his stomach growling as he became bewildered at our sudden turn of events.

"Well I did warn you about Luffy's eating habits, didn't I?" I said, as Zoro and I both turned murderous glares Luffy's way.

"He must have gotten into our food supply while we were both sleeping. He was already up when I got up." Zoro said, as I nodded my head once. I pretty much guessed the same thing.

"Yeah, he must have. We did a pretty damn good job yesterday making sure he didn't lay any of his greedy fingers on it. I guess next time we get any supplies, we'll just have to take turns keeping watch." I suggested, as Zoro thought about the idea.

"Agreed. I will admit though, I figured that you were exaggerating a bit." he said, as I sighed heavily.

"You have no idea." I said, as I turned to a still very nervous Luffy.

"I don't want to be turned into monkey bread. I don't even taste good." Luffy muttered to more to himself as I approached him. As I passed, I just smacked him upside the back of his head.

"You're lucky I don't have anything to cook with, monkey brat." I told him, as Luffy gave me a wide eyed look. Seriously, how did he think I would be able to cook him without an oven, or bread ingredients. Hell I'd just end up burning down the boat just to get a fire to cook with!

Reaching the place I had been sitting since the night before, I reached back into my bag and pulled out something wrapped in cloth. Yesterday before we set sail, I noticed that the next island was about half a day away; and considering what Luffy did on the way to the last island, I thought it'd be a good idea to pack some food in a place where Luffy wouldn't think to look.

Unwrapping it, I revealed a loaf of bread already cut in half. The moment it was revealed, I practically heard Luffy sniffing in my direction. Turning just so, I made sure Luffy could see it as I began moving towards the end of the boat the boys had occupied. Luffy's eyes started sparkling, and he started drooling at the sight of the bread I had on me.

Too bad for him, seeing as I passed Luffy right by, dodging his grabby hands as I went, and kept walking until I reached where Zoro sat. Plopping down beside him, I then offered him half of my bread. Eyeing me warily, Zoro slowly took it from me.

"Asuna! Why are you sharing with Zoro and not with me!?" Luffy whined, as I gave him a smug smile.

"Well, if you hadn't eaten all of our food _again_ , then I wouldn't have had to share with Zoro. There would have been plenty for the three of us until the next island if you hadn't thought with your stomach instead of your head." I told him, as Luffy began to pout.

Simply ignoring him, I bit into my half of the bread. Letting out a snort of laughter, Zoro thanked me as he bit into his own food. As we ate, I just studied my surroundings. I don't know why or how, but something drew me back to our boat, and to Zoro. Or more specifically, his swords. The white one I had taken a notice of when Luffy busted through the window at the marine base to save us.

As before the aura was powerful but muddled, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu in seeing it.

 _From what I saw of it in our fight with Morgan, it was a straight blade. Kind of like the O Wazamono swords…_ I thought, only to go wide eyed a second later. Finishing off my bread, I then got up and went right back to my bag. Zoro raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't say anything.

Pulling out everything in my bag that was in my way, I finally found my way to the bottom where an old book was located. The one single treasure I was able to keep after Bellemere's death, and the death of the man who originally taught me the arts of forging. Opening the back cover, I flipped through the index until I found the page number. Finding it, I wasted no time in flipping to the right section. I barely flipped through two pages before I finally found what looked to be a perfect replica of Zoro's blade on paper.

"No freaking way." I said, as I glanced between Zoro's sword and my book.

Hearing my words, Luffy crawled over to see what I was looking at.

"What ya doing, Asuna?" Luffy asked, as I glanced up at him, then to Zoro who wore a curious expression on his face. As I did so, Luffy looked in the book. Upon seeing the picture, he then looked at Zoro himself. "Hey Zoro, there's a picture of your sword in here." he said, as Zoro became a bit interested.

"Is there now?" He asked, as I nodded my head yes to confirm that Luffy wasn't kidding around. Getting back up, I moved back over towards Zoro.

"Did you know that your white sword is one of the O Wazamono swords?" I asked him, as I held out my open book.

Reaching one hand up, Zoro took the book from me and took a look at the page that contained a picture of the said sword, and a description of it. While he looked, I watched as Luffy quickly lost interest in our conversation, and went about lying on the deck muttering how hungry he was. Leaving him to his misery, I waited for Zoro to finish looking at my book.

"I've known for a while it's special, and a really damn good sword. Damn smiths I hired to maintain it always tried to get me to sell it, but I always refused. I've had it with me through every fight since I set sail to become the best."Zoro answered, as he closed the book, and handed it back to me. "Explains why you gave it such a weird look, like you've seen it before. You said something yesterday about taking in bounties, so I had assumed you might have seen me and it in passing at some point."

Taking it from him, I went back to my bag to place it back in the bottom where it would be safe, and began to clean up the mess I made.

"Nope. I originally saw it in this book when I began learning my craft. As a little girl I had always wanted to create swords that could be just as amazing as some of the highest grade swords known to history. And as far as the bounty thing goes, I had never met or seen you before yesterday, but I had heard of you before hand. The closest we ever came to meeting was this one guy you hauled in. I think you had just left the marine base when I walked in. They were leading this bandit who had a series of nasty cuts all over him into the infirmary. What was that jerk's name again?" I said, as I put a finger to my chin in thought. From what I remember, the guy sure was a dick to his men and the people who got in his way. At that thought, I snapped my fingers in realization.

"Oh yeah, it was Dick the bandit." I said, as Zoro's brow furrowed.

"Damn, I took that bastard down a long time ago. I hadn't come across a bounty in quite a long while during that time." he said, as he leaned back against the boat. "What were you doing there?" he asked a moment later. By now, I had finished putting everything away again, so I sat back against my bag on my end of the boat as well.

"Back then, I had just turned in a small pirate ship full of criminals to the marines. After I reached the island, I then went to the black smith and traded weapons for ore and other crafting materials. Seemed like a really nice guy." I answered, as Zoro nodded his head once in understanding.

"I'm actually surprised that we didn't meet around then. I had left my white sword with the local black smith in order to have him hone it. I left and went back later for it, so I must have missed you in the middle of that time frame." Zoro said, as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe." I agreed, as the two of us fell silent. Like me, I guess Zoro wasn't really willing to dive any further in his past. Heaven above knows that I'll never speak of my past with anyone. The only other person who knew just about as much of it as I did was Nami, and that's because she was there for most of it. She pretty much suffers the same hell that I do, just for a different reason.

In order to keep our sanity, if we ever discuss it, it's only to the extent of our one hundred million berry goal to free everyone.

I don't know how long I sat there mulling over things, but I was soon brought out of my mind by a shadow passing over our shared small boat. Looking up, I saw that it was a bird. A _Pinkish_ bird of all things, if my eyes weren't deceiving me. It was pretty high up there and it was nearing noon, so it was pretty hard to tell. Ignoring it, I pulled my map out again to study it. Besides, it's not like I didn't have anything better to do.

"Hey look. It's a bird." I heard Zoro say, as he too noticed it.

Looking up as well, you could practically feel the warmth of the light bulb that lit up over Luffy's head as a big grin stretched across his face.

"Hey, what if we catch it and eat it!?" Luffy suggested, as Zoro gave him a quizzical look.

"Okay, but how do you plan on catching it?" Zoro asked him, as I glanced up from my map.

"Or cook it for that matter." I added in. Waving us off, Luffy just got to his feet.

"Just leave it to me, and it won't be a problem." Luffy told us, as he crouched. Seeing this, I began to get a bad feeling. " _GUM-GUM ROCKET!_ " With that being shouted, Luffy threw his arms up towards the top of the sail, and used that as a balancing beam to shoot himself up in the sky towards the unsuspecting bird.

"Make's sense I guess." Zoro commented, as I sighed heavily.

"Yeah, well. I hate to sound like Coby, but this is giving me a bad feeling." I said, as I glanced back at Zoro. "Hey, if he lands in the ocean, do you want to grab Luffy and I grab the bird, or do you want to switch this time?" I asked him, as Zoro shrugged his shoulders as he kept an eye on our captain. However, before he could reply, his expression went from normal to shocked.

Becoming a little startled by this, I looked up as well. Luffy wasn't falling to the ocean. In fact, he wasn't going to be falling back into the boat or the sea at all considering how Luffy had achieved the power of flight, via having his head stuck in the rather large bird's beak.

"How the hell are we supposed to save him from that!?" I asked no one in particular. Nor did I have time to get one either seeing as the little boat Zoro and I had been left on was suddenly being propelled forward at an inhuman rate. It had taken me by so much surprise that I was not only knocked over, but the map in my hands was torn away by the wind.

Now that the boat had begun moving, I was able to sit up and see what the problem in addition to our first one was. Only to find Zoro paddling for dear life as he tried to keep up with our quickly disappearing captain. Seeing that I wasn't falling over anymore, Zoro only spared me a quick glance before he turned back to where we were going and following Luffy.

"Hey can you raise our sail so I can go faster? I don't want a strong gust to push us back." he asked, as I muttered a curse under my breath. Doing as I had been asked, I then held on to the mast for dear life.

"Can you still see Luffy?" I asked him, as I looked around for my bag. Thankfully it had just slid a little closer to the mast. Not wanting it to go flying off the boat as well, I grabbed a hold of one of the straps and dragged it closer to me. Using one hand, I held on to the mast while the other hugged my bag to my chest.

"Yeah." he answered, not looking anywhere else.

"Good. Keep following them, and we'll get to whatever land that bird calls home. We can catch up to Luffy there. In our sudden haste, I lost the map." I warned.

"We'll get a new one at the next island. I would have warned you, but my captain was being kidnapped by a fucking bird of all things." Zoro growled in aggravation, as he began muttering a few other choice words under his breath.

In the few minutes of our chase, we began getting a bit closer to the bird who had Luffy. However, lady luck apparently didn't favor us today. A few yards after we took off, we hear people calling for help. With no ship or other boat in sight, they could only be ship wreckers.

"Of course! Luffy get's taken by an a bird, and we stumble across ship wreckers while trying to keep up. I'm gonna kill him when I get my hands on him." I said, as Zoro kept on barreling towards them.

"Tell me about it." he muttered my way before yelling out at the three in the water. "I can't stop, so you're just gonna have to jump in!" Zoro warned them, as they all gave a cry of alarm.

Seeing as we were just about upon them, I didn't really expect any of them to make it. But, low and behold, all three of them managed to climb in. Which was impressive, and Zoro had verbally agreed as well. Yet, things were about to get a bit hairy.

The first thing I noticed about the three was that they looked like clowns. At this, I figured they fell off a sailing circus or something. This thought was dashed though, when I noticed the second thing about them.

And that was they had cold steel swords, with two pointed at Zoro, and one at the back of my neck.

Feeling this, I made myself go perfectly still. I was sitting on my knees with my side pressed up against the mast. All I had to do was shift a little, while disguising it as a jump of surprise in order to get enough space to slide a hand down to the dagger I had in my boot. When I had a good hold on the handle, I sat there and waited for the right moment to make my move.

Zoro wasn't quite yet aware of our new situation, seeing as he was still keeping up with Luffy and that damn bird. Seeing this, one of the clowns, who I was beginning to think were pirates, decided to speak up. And honestly, did all pirates travel in threes now?

"Stop the boat." The one who wore a hat and had the blade to my neck demanded, as a smug look settled upon his face. "The three of us are members of the Buggy Pirates, and this boat is ours now. If you don't surrender it, I'll slice this girl's pretty neck." he said, as Zoro finally turned to address our new found problem. Let's just say that he was not pleased. Apparently Zoro could look very intimidating with or without hid bandanna on.

All it took was that one look for them to become nervous. Seeing this as the opportunity I had paused for, I drew my dagger and used it to knock away the sword the pirate with the hat had to my neck. While the idiot staggered from my sudden move, I then kicked at the back of the knee with my left foot to trip him up. Soon as he went down on the floor of the boat, I put my dagger to the pirates neck.

Only, I wasn't as nice as he was about holding it there. No, I didn't slit his throat, but I did push it just far enough into the skin to make a little blood trickle down his neck.

"Doesn't feel so nice to have a blade to your throat, now does it?" I asked him, as I heard two thumps come from behind me. Giving the bastard below me a hard glare, I glanced over to see Zoro tossing the big guy and the red headed clown pirate at the front of the boat where the oars Zoro had been using were. With one more scary glare, he ordered them to begin rowing.

Glad that I now had Zoro standing at my back rather than the other two, I turned back to my now rather pale captive.

Keeping my dagger in place, I reached over the guy and grabbed the sword he was slowly trying to inch his hand towards. Lifting it up off the floor of the boat, I then replaced the tip of my dagger with the tip of the guy's own sword.

Standing to my feet, I kept the sword pointed at the guy.

"Did we loose Luffy?" I asked Zoro, as I also kept my eyes on the pirate below me.

"Yeah. He's long gone." Zoro answered, after he checked the sky for his now missing captain. Now that I had my answer, I turned my full attention back to the pirate.

"Well now, it would appear you and your two buddies aren't really that smart. We saved your asses back there, and you choose to insult our kindness by trying to steal our ship. A ship occupied by a bounty hunter and a former bounty hunter at that." I told the guy, as he broke out into a cold sweat. "And by doing so, you made us loose sight of our friend. That won't win you any other kindness from us, now will it Zoro?" I asked, as Zoro crossed his arms over his chest. As for the three pirates, they all then began to look like they were about ready to piss themselves.

"If land wasn't so far away, I'd say just toss 'em over. But seeing as we lost sight of Luffy, I think he can help his two buddies row us to shore. What do you think, Asuna?" Zoro asked, turning his glare on the guy below me.

"I like it." I answered, as I stepped back. Pulling the sword away with me, I then watched as Zoro reached down to grab the guy by the shirt. Hauling him up, Zoro then shoved him at his buddies.

Now that he was free of my grasp and Zoro's, the pirate with the hat began groveling and apologizing as he started ringing his hands together as the other two began rowing. We weren't going at Zoro's insane pace anymore, but at least we were moving. Now that that was settled, Zoro sat back where he had been before this whole mess began. Propping up his swords, he then took to keeping a watchful eye on our unwelcomed guests while he ignored their blathering.

As for myself, I simply walked over to grab my bag from the mast. Sliding it towards the back of the boat near Zoro, I then sheathed my dagger before I went about picking up the three swords the pirates had been made to drop. Taking those with me, I went to sit beside Zoro.

"What are you planning on doing with those?" Zoro asked, as I began checking the swords over.

"Seeing if these things are worth selling or tossing to the sea." I answered, as a nervous squeak came from the other end of the boat. Looking up from the swords, I gave them a menacing glare of my own. Which shut them right up. As they went back to rowing, I went back to examining the swords.

"They don't have any sheaths on them, and who knows how long they've been in the sea before we came across them. Their swords are probably going to rust." Zoro said, as I nodded my head in agreement.

"You're probably right." I said, as I placed the three swords in front of me. "Not that it's going to matter if they rust or not. These poor things weren't taken very good care of. Check this out." I said, as I pulled one sword towards me. Placing one of my booted feet just below the weakened spot I had found, I then reached for the handle, and bent it. The handle did just exactly as I thought it would, and snapped right off.

Ignoring the curse from the front of the boat, I checked the other two blades to find similar conditions.

"Geez lady! Those are the only weapons we have!" The big guy protested, as I gave the guy a dry look. Only reason I wasn't getting up to kick his ass myself was that he hadn't stopped rowing, and the boat wasn't slowing down.

"Don't want me to break them?" I asked, as I got three nods. "Then you should have taken better damn care of them! Oh, and here's one more sound piece of advice, don't ever point a blade at a blacksmith. Those of us who know what the hell we're doing can find the weakest points on any blade or armor we're familiar with!"

At the more vigorous nods I received, I decided to leave the wretches alone for now. Instead, I simply got up and tossed the worthless tools to the sea. Zoro had been right about the rust after all. I don't know how much longer it'll be before we reach the island. Without anything to properly wrap them in, the rust would have set in any way, making it impossible for me to do anything with them even if I were to melt them down.

Now that they had been disposed of, I sat back down next to Zoro.

We sat in silence for a bit, but that ended when I suddenly found a white handled sword before my face. Blinking in surprise, I looked from Zoro's best sword, to the man himself.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, as Zoro kept a steady look trained on me.

"You were able to tell a good bit about their swords. I'm curious to know what you can tell me about this one." he answered, as I looked at him uncertainly.

"Are you sure it's alright?" I asked once more, as Zoro nodded his head once.

Taking a deep breath, I then let it out slowly. I couldn't help but feel a bit giddy at being able to hold one of the famous swords. Word's just wouldn't be able to describe the feeling of being asked to take a look at it either. Reaching to take the handle, I had to swallow the sudden lump in my throat in order to draw it out. Once it was free, I then set the sheath on the floor of the boat between Zoro and I.

Zoro's O Wazamono sword, the Wado Ichimonji as the book had called it, was a very beautifully crafted sword. Not only that, but the blade was in perfect condition. True to the nature of any swordsman, Zoro had put a lot of effort into taking very good care of her. The only thing that looked like it needed was a bit of cleaning.

"Wow…" I whispered with awe. "It's really beautiful… We're you able to clean it before we left the last island?" I asked Zoro, who shook his head no.

"No." He answered, as he ran his eyes along the length of the blade. "I was planning on visiting the black smith of the town after Luffy and I got something to eat at the inn, but you saw how that played out." Nodding my head in understanding, I then thought about the cleaning supplies I had in my bag. I was pretty sure I had just enough left to clean a sword…

"If…" I began, as I became a little embarrassed. Taking a deep breath, I forced it aside. "If you don't mind, I have some cleaning materials in my bag I could clean this with. Unless you'd rather clean it yourself, of course." I asked, as Zoro thought it over.

"Normally, I would clean that sword on my own." Zoro began, as I felt a bit of disappointment begin to settle in my gut. "But you helped me escape from certain death, and from what you just showed me with the swords that belonged to those three dumb asses, I think I can make an exception."

Thanking him, I then turned to get out everything I would need. True to his word, Zoro allowed me to clean his sword, but he went between watching the three idiots for any funny business; and watching me clean like hawk. It took me a while, but soon I had her looking at her best before I sheathed the thing of beauty and handed her back to Zoro.

Soon as she was back where she belonged, Zoro then gave me another of his curious looks.

"I'm actually surprised that you don't carry a sword of your own." he commented, as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I just feel like using daggers…" I answered. Another lie I have to tell. Only worse than the others. This is because it's not only a lie for anyone I come into contact with, but it's also a lie for myself. I honestly don't want to think about the reason why I only use daggers to fight.

It's too painful.

Considering my words, I let out a relieved sigh when Zoro accepted my answer.

"To each their own I guess." he replied, falling into silence. Doing the same, I turned my attention to my own blades. They weren't really used in the last fight, so I didn't really need to do anything with them right now. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw as Zoro drew his white sword to check the results of my cleaning. Giving it a satisfied nod, Zoro sheathed it before turning his attention back towards the sky. Towards the front of the boat I might add.

We still had three idiots to watch until we reached land.

As we sailed on, it remained relatively quiet on the small boat the five of us were on. Save for the three clown pirates who kept muttering among themselves about being stolen from, and what they were going to tell their captain, and what he would do to them as a result. However, it wasn't until they mentioned the name of the their captain that Zoro's interest became peaked.

"So, who is this _Captain Buggy_ you keep talking about?" Zoro asked them, as they all jumped in surprised at being caught.

The two manning the oars clammed right up, and rowed the boat a little faster along the surface of the sea. Clearly they didn't want to be responsible for spilling the beans. Which only left the man in the middle left to speak for them, and seeing as he didn't exactly have a set task at the moment he was caught like a rat in a trap.

"You've never heard of Captain Buggy before?" the man asked, as I turned my attention to the conversation as well.

"Let me guess, he's the captain of the Buggy the Clown Pirates, right?" I asked sarcastically.

At the pirate nodded his head yes, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Looking from the guy to Zoro, I gave him a dry stare.

"Buggy the Clown is a pirate who is known to have a devil fruit ability. Back before I met Luffy, I thought that this rumor was just a hoax to intimidate people. Now though, after seeing what Luffy was able to do, I plan on taking such rumors with a grain of salt." I explained, as I continued to lean back against my side of the boat.

"Yeah. I thought that the devil fruits were just a myth. Then Luffy pops up out of no where and shakes everything right down to hell." Zoro agreed, as I smiled at his words.

"That's one way of putting it I suppose. Either way, the way those three idiots are dressed, it makes sense that Buggy's their captain. As his name suggests, he dresses up like a clown. A theme the entire crew is said to follow, so they look like a bunch of demented circus rejects." I said, as I heard what sounded like a choking noise coming from the front of the boat. Glancing up there, I saw three scrunched up faces.

"Stop rowing, I'll give you something to make that face about." I threatened, as the three immediately stopped, and looked anywhere but where Zoro and I were.

"Do you think Luffy's reached land yet?" Zoro asked, once the three had quieted down once more.

"I don't know. I hope so." I answered, as I became serious. "We won't know until we reach land, and see just what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into."

….….

It took our three pirate motor about two hours before we were finally pulling into the docks. Right up next to a massive pirate ship that held the same symbol on it's flag as the one on the hat wearing pirate.

Grabbing my bag, I followed suit as Zoro hopped off the boat. While the three pirates set about tying our boat to the docks, I took note of just how silent and empty the streets leading into the town itself looked. If I didn't know any better, then I'd call this place a ghost town.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, as Zoro glanced around as well.

"Probably in hiding." Zoro answered, as he gestured towards the pirate ship next to us. "Seeing as that ship is out in the open, I think it's safe to say that the damn pirates took over."

At this, I had half of a mind to turn and beat the three pirates to death before moving on to the rest of their crew mates. That's how much rage filled my being at the mere _thought_ of what these bastards must have done to terrify these innocent people so much.

Before I could utter a single word though, this huge explosion erupts from towards the center of the town, and rockets right through a line of houses and building. The shock was enough to override my anger, for now at least.

"That was one hell of an explosion." Zoro commented, as the three pirates we brought with us looked in the same direction as well.

"That was one of the captain's _buggy balls_." One of them explained.

Just hearing the name had me rolling my eyes. Honestly, could this Buggy the Clown have a more inflated ego? As for Zoro on the other hand, he couldn't help but smirk at he ridiculous name.

" _Buggy balls_?" Zoro echoed, as I tried to better pin point the origin of the blast. If it came from what looked like the middle of town, then I wouldn't be surprised if that sucker was fired right down the main street. And, seeing as the humor was lost on me, I got right down to business.

"Crazy ass name or not, I think that explosion is worth checking out." I said, as Zoro dropped the humor for now.

"Yeah, your probably right. If Luffy attracts trouble like you said, then I bet he's right in the middle of it." Zoro agreed, as he glanced back at the three pirates who had finished tying up our boat and began fussing about another. This one on the other hand had a black sail with the same mark as the one on the huge pirate ship. "Hey you three!" he called them.

Becoming nervous like they have every time Zoro or I addressed them, they spun around and said a collective yes.

"Where is your captain located?" Zoro asked, as they tensed up.

"Oh, no! We can't tell you that!" the bigger one shouted, as the red headed one all but began crying like a baby where he stood. "If we tell you, captain Buggy will kill us!" he whimpered, as the one in the hat took on a pleading tone. "Come on, you guys! Just give us some slack will you?"

Scoffing at their belly aching, I took on a different approach.

"Aren't you three dead anyway? After all, you did loose not only your boat to a thief, but all of your captain's treasure with it. You're all pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don't." I reminded them, as they all paled at my words.

Considering them, the three finally began to calm down. After a few moments of whispering at each other, the one in the hat stepped forward.

"The pub." he muttered, as the two behind him nodded in confirmation of their friends words.

Satisfied now that we had an answer, I glanced over at Zoro.

"Sounds like your typical stop for pirates." Zoro said, as I hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, let's be careful though. If they're on the roof, then we have a chance of being seen before we reach it. If we get caught, then we'll be surrounded from all sides." I cautioned, as Zoro gave me a bit of a dark smirk.

"If they do, we'll get to have some fun then, won't we?" he said, as I felt a tingle of wariness and excitement go up my spine. Just what was it about this look of his that made me feel like that? This was the second time I've felt an intense emotion since meeting the famous bounty hunter known as Roronoa Zoro the pirate hunter.

Telling myself to get a grip, I pushed the feelings back. Giving Zoro a mere nod so as to not be impolite, I then nodded towards the buildings and street system that stood between us and the pub.

"Either way, we need to get moving." I told him, as Zoro gave me one last look.

"Yeah, let's go." he said, as he began running to the far right of the town. Seeing this, I couldn't help but become a bit confused. Where we were located at the docks, put us at a roughly straight line to the pub that sat at the center of town, so why was Zoro going that way?

"Hey, Zoro." I called him. When he stopped and looked back at me, I pointed in the direction he should have been going. "The pub's this way." I told him, as he froze where he stood. And if my eyes weren't deceiving me, his ears were even turning red with embarrassment.

With a steady stream of curses, Zoro turned around and made his way back. However, instead of turning down the street I had thought he was originally going to head down, Zoro began heading in the complete opposite direction.

 _He has no sense of direction, does he?_ I wondered, as I started to become a bit annoyed. _Okay Asuna, think… If I say he's going in the wrong direction, then he'll just turn around and go the opposite way. So if I say the opposite direction of the way we need to go, he should go that way, shouldn't he?_ I thought, as Zoro kept walking.

Rolling my eyes, I stopped him again.

"Zoro, that's still not the right way." I called after him. Letting out another curse, Zoro turned to glare at me.

"Will you make up your mind woman!" he shouted at me. Gritting my teeth, I simply pointed towards the water.

"Don't yell at me, _mister I can't find my brain for my ass_. Just go that damn way, I'm sure it's right." I snapped at him, praying I wasn't about to make things more complicated.

Muttering a few things under his breath, Zoro began walking back towards me for the second time. This time however, amazingly enough, he turned down the alley way I had been indicating this who fucking time. Now that Zoro was finally going the right way, I couldn't help but plant my face firmly into my palm as I began following after him.

The three pirates didn't follow us. Instead they began muttering about a plan to ambush the woman who had stolen from them. They were probably hoping to steal the already stolen treasure back in order to avoid the wrath of their captain.

 _I wonder if Nami had a hand in that._ I couldn't help but think, as I put the three behind me and out of my mind.

It took us a few minutes to reach the pub, but we eventually got there. I ended up having to take the lead due to Zoro nearly wandering off in the wrong direction a few times, but still we made it. As we entered the bottom level of the pub, we could hear chanting coming from the roof above. _Fire, fire, fire_.

"We'd better hurry. I think they're about to fire another one of those ball things." I said, as Zoro headed for some stairs that led to the second floor.

We didn't have to look very far for the next set of steps that led up and onto the roof thankfully. Which was good, considering that the sight that greeted us as we stepped out onto the roof nearly gave me a heart attack.

In front of a loaded cannon in a cage was Luffy. Back behind the cannon though, stood a very familiar red headed girl crying out in agony as she put out a burning fuse with her bare hands. What had me seizing up though, was the saber wielding pirates about to lop off her head. She was too busy trying to save Luffy that she didn't notice them.

"NAMI!" I screamed her name, as I ran forward.

Hearing her name, Nami looked up at me with wide eyes. However, her gaze shifted a moment later when she felt the presence of the pirates closing in on her. She closed her eyes, anticipating the blow. A blow I, along with the help of Zoro, managed to deflect at the last minute. Using two of his own swords, Zoro managed to block a little over half of the pirates, while I used my daggers to get the last guy who tried to go around the blockade Zoro had created. Once I had the damn pirate stopped, I wasted no time in kicking his family jewels into his fucking throat.

"Get the hell away from my sister!" I screamed at the man who fell over holding his crotch for dear life. As for the pirate Zoro had held back, apparently they had run into his swords so hard that they knocked themselves out. I wasn't too happy about this, because I had wanted to make them join in on their fallen friends misery. Making a mental note to do that once I was sure Nami was alright, I then moved to stand next to my sister.

"Nice save Zoro! You too Asuna!" Luffy cheered from his cage, as I assessed Nami's wounds. A quick glanced showed that while he was tied up, no harm had come to him as of yet. It had been a close call though. If not for Nami, then Luffy would have been blown into the next ocean.

"Asuna…" she said, still in a bit of shock it would seem. "What are you doing here? Why are you with pirates? And the crew Luffy mentioned was you and Zoro? As in the pirate hunter?" she asked me, as I grabbed her hands and flipped them over so I could see the damage done. Luckily for her, the damage wasn't anything beyond the first degree.

"Never mind that now, I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to get out of this scrape. I must say though, I'm surprised you'd take the forward approach to stealing from these pirates." I told her, as I turned to assess the rest of the crew who hadn't been knocked out yet.

"Everything alright?" Zoro asked, as he glanced back at us.

"Yeah. Nothing I can't tend to once we get out of here." I answered, as Nami gave him a curious, wary look. Not that I can blame her. Like me, she knows that most bounty hunters were ruthless and brutal. As for Zoro, his reputation was anything but good after all. However, now that I've sailed from one island to the next with the guy, I can say for a fact that he's not ruthless but he his brutal in his fighting abilities.

Seeing as Nami was fine, Zoro then turned to address his captain.

"What a relief that you two found us! Now come and get me out of this cage!" Luffy shouted over at us, once he saw that he had Zoro's attention.

"How do you keep getting yourself into this shit?" Zoro asked him, as he began making his way towards Luffy. "First a bird flies off with you, and when I finally catch up to you, you're in a cage."

"Well, it's an interesting story actually." Luffy answered, as he watched us from where he sat tied up.

While they boys had been talking, I noticed a flash of orange begin to approach us. Holding my daggers at the ready, I turned to see who it was. From the horrid orange captain's coat, I figured that Captain Buggy himself had decided to step forward to deal with this situation personally. Among the crew behind him, I heard whispers floating around about how Luffy had called Zoro by his name. Apparently the scum bags had heard of him as well.

Hearing them himself, Buggy stopped a few feet away, and crossed his arms over his chest as he focused on Zoro. From the expression on his face, I could tell that he was none too please at the turn of events.

"So you're Roronoa Zoro the Pirate Hunter." Buggy began, making Zoro pause about half way to Luffy's cage. "If your here to collect my head, you've got quite a struggle before you." he cautioned, as Zoro looked over his shoulder to glare at Buggy.

"Sorry, but I have no interest in fighting you. I gave up being a bounty hunter, so my only reason for coming here was to get my friend." Zoro said, turning the fight Buggy offered down.

We didn't come here to fight originally after all. If Zoro wanted, he could take Luffy and leave. As for myself… This bastard nearly had my sister killed. I won't be leaving until I have him and his entire crew thoroughly ass kicked, and bound on his own pirate ship headed for the nearest marine base.

"Well that's too bad, seeing as I have every intention of taking your head before you leave." Buggy taunted, as Zoro's glare became darker as well. "Doing so will bolster my reputation."

"Try it, and I'll kill you." Zoro warned him, as Buggy grew a dark, annoyed smile of his own.

Seeing as these two were about to come to blows, I began gently urging Nami to head around the other side of the cannon. Now that I'm seeing the captain of the Buggy Pirates himself, I remember where I've seen him before. Every now and then, I do look at the wanted posters the marines give me when I take in a bounty. If I recall correctly, Buggy the Clown Pirate was one of the few pirates in the East Blue rumored to hold a devil fruit power.

At the time, I figured that the devil fruits were nothing but myth; but after meeting Luffy, I know better.

Giving what I thought to be a disgusting laugh, Buggy pulled out five daggers. Yes, _five_ of them; one to rest between each of his fingers. Seriously, was everyone trying to find new and strange ways to hold their weapons now. First Zoro's three sword thing where he holds a sword in his mouth, and now this? People are just starting to be a little too strange for me.

"Is that so? Why don't we see about that." Buggy said, twirling one of them.

Sensing the danger, Zoro turned and began drawing his swords.

"Your funeral." Zoro replied, placing his white sword in his mouth. Taking a ready stance, Zoro waited for Buggy to make the first move. All around us, Buggy's men even began chanting his name over and over again.

"Is he really going to fight with that sword in his mouth?" Nami whispered to me, as I spared her a quick glance.

"Yeah. It's just how Zoro fights. Watch and you'll see." I told her, right about the time Buggy got tired of watching Zoro for any moves. Letting out a very creepy clown like laugh, Buggy charged at Zoro. Yelling something like _die flashily_ or something.

"He does realize that flashily isn't a real word, right?" I asked no one of particular. As expected, my question was ignored.

Zoro waited until Buggy was but a few feet away before he made his own move. It was pretty much child's play for him to dodge the daggers, and slice Buggy in three places. Just above his knee, his middle, and one of his arms fell to the ground. At the display of violence, Nami turned her head.

As for myself, I've seen worse carnage. I've even caused some of what I had seen as well. However, soon as Buggy hit the ground, I got the sense that something was wrong; but, I can't tell what it was.

Glancing over his shoulder, Zoro watched as Buggy fell while he sheathed his swords. When Buggy remained unmoving, Zoro turned a bit to get a better look at his fallen enemy. When Buggy still didn't move, Zoro began to relax a bit. Not too much though, because we still had Buggy's crew to deal with.

"Way to go Zoro! He was pretty weak after all!" Luffy celebrated from his small prison.

"No way…" I heard Nami say in awe from where she stood next to me. "He took Buggy out like it was nothing. It was just easy." she said, as I still felt a bit of unease.

"Yeah, almost too easy… Something's wrong with this picture, but what." I said, as a loud snicker had me turning around to face Buggy's crew. A few of the pirates standing in the front had began to snicker and smile dangerously at us. The rest in the back soon followed this example after one particular loud snort that came from a pirate wearing a crimson red hat and jacket.

 _Wait, crimson… Blood!_ I thought in a panic, as I whirled around to look at Buggy's remains. And just like I had realized, there was no blood surrounding his body. Wounds that cut all the way through like that was always followed with the spurting of blood and the showing of the person innards. Buggy wasn't out yet!

"Zoro, watch out! Buggy's not dead yet!" I yelled at Zoro, who turned a confused look my way.

"What do you mean, I cut him into three-" Zoro began, seconds before the tip of a knife could be seen protruding from his side from the back. Whatever else Zoro was going to say was lost in a grunt of pain as he went to his knees from the surprise attack. As he did, you could see the hand Zoro had severed from Buggy's wrist holding on to the knife, moving on its own as it pulled the knife out of Zoro's side and returned to its owner.

Once it was out of him, Zoro turned to look behind him. Just in time to see the severed limb reattach itself to Buggy, who was floating.

"The Chop-Chop fruit… That's the devil fruit that gave me my powers." Buggy explained, upon seeing our expressions. As he spoke, he reattached his middle and the leg Zoro had cut off. "Thanks to my devil fruit, I can never be defeated by the sword!"

Seeing this, Nami began to become nervous.

"His limbs reattach themselves!?" Nami exclaimed in shock and a bit of fear. "But I thought that devil fruits weren't anything but stories pirate told." She said, as I shook my head no at her.

"No, they're plenty real alright. Buggy may be the second person I've met who holds a devil fruit, but he's certainly not the first." I told her, as she cast a nervous look my way.

"Really? Who else?" she asked, as I waved it off. We were in trouble right now.

"Like I said earlier, I'll explain when we get out of here. Things have gotten a little more complicated if you haven't noticed." I reminded her. "It didn't look like Buggy had hit any of Zoro's vital organs, but that wound is serious. He could bleed out if we don't' stitch him up real soon." I said, as I examined Zoro's wound as best as I could from where I stood with Nami.

"You're right, but that won't matter if we don't get out of here at all. All four of us will die if we don't." Nami agreed, as Buggy's crew began cheering his name once more. If this crowd gets any more riled up, they'll be jumping at the chance to rip our throats out. And if some of the dirty looks a few of the pirates were giving Nami and I were anything to go by, they had other plans before they slit our throats.

As I tried to think of a plan that would get us off the roof, and quickly. However, before I could really think of anything, Buggy had lifted his knife above Zoro's head. Before the bastard could bring it down, Luffy began rattling his cage.

" _STABBING HIM IN THE BACK WAS A COWARDLY MOVE, YOU BIG NOSED BASTARD!_ " Luffy shouted, as every one froze.

Buggy's men had ceased their chanting, and wore expressions on their faces that gave me a sense of deja vu. Looking at Buggy, the sense became a bit stronger. He had a lot of angry viens popping up on his face.

Much like Alvida…

 _Oh wait, Alvida's crew had that same expression when Luffy called her fat didn't they?_ I thought as it hit me. After it remained quiet for a few minutes, Buggy slowly turned to look at Luffy.

"What-was-that-you-said?" Buggy whispered, his voice cracking with the anger he had. " _WHOSE GOT A BIG NOSE_?" Buggy shouted, as his anger snapped, and he threw one of the daggers at Luffy.

"Luffy!" Zoro called in worry, as Luffy's head went flying back.

"Shit." I muttered as I saw this, expecting blood to start flying any second. According to the myths, only one person can hold the power of one specific devil fruit at a time. So there was no way that Luffy could separate himself like Buggy could…

I didn't need to worry about him however, seeing as Luffy sat forward a second later with blade of Buggy's knife held between his teeth. To be honest, I was surprised that Luffy was able to catch that knife like that. Anyone else would have been a goner for sure. Even Buggy was surprised.

"Buggy!" Luffy called him, his voice muffled by the knife he had in his mouth. Looking up, Buggy gave Luffy his fully shocked attention. "I'm gonna kick your ass as soon as I get out of this cage." Luffy told him, as he _bit_ through the blade. Just seeing it had my jaw, my teeth, and my tongue hurting. I also made a mental note to never let my fingers go near Luffy's teeth either. He'd bite them off if I or anyone else ever did…

Hearing Luffy's words, Buggy began to laugh his ass off, his crew following suit.

"You're going to kick _my_ ass? You sure have a lot of nerve saying something like that while locked up kid." Buggy snorted, as he put his hands on his hips. "No, I'm afraid that all four of you dumb asses are going to die here today; so if you're going to kick my ass, then you'd better get out of that cage and do it soon."

Now that he said his piece, Buggy thought that it was a good idea to start laughing again. However, this time it was short lived when Luffy joined in. Hearing him, Buggy and his men stopped.

"I refuse to die!" Luffy declared as he turned his attention to Zoro. "Zoro! Get up!" he said, as I began to wonder what Luffy was planning. Obviously he couldn't say it out loud considering we were surrounded by all sides at the moment.

"You'd better have a good plan!" Nami warned Luffy, catching on like I had.

"What?" Zoro said, as Luffy gave him a monkey grin. Now that he had Zoro's attention, Luffy then began looking at the cannon pointing towards him. Did he really expect Zoro to lift that thing all by himself, and injured no less. Before I could protest or point this out, Zoro was already pushing himself to his feet.

"I've gotcha." he muttered, as he made it to his feet at last.

I don't know if Buggy knew exactly what Luffy had gotten across to Zoro, but he sure as hell knew that something was up. Therefore, he made it his goal to keep Zoro down. Tired of just standing by, I darted forward, and managed to block Buggy's daggers.

"Zoro, go!" I told him, as I kicked Buggy back.

"Oh, it's the little girl whose kept mostly to herself so far. Did you come to free that straw hat wearing kid as well?" Buggy asked, as I tried my best to herd him back towards his crew. None the wiser, Buggy dodged my attacks, heading the way I was intending.

"Yes and no. I was originally looking for him, but seeing as you nearly had my sister killed, I can't exactly stand by and let you kill those two knuckle heads now can I?" I replied, as Buggy snorted at me.

"You sister huh? Well I guess you can share a grave once we kill you." Buggy said, as he slashed at me. Jumping back, I was barely able to get out of the way of Buggy's daggers in time. I wouldn't be on the run much longer though, seeing as a really loud thud pulled Buggy's attention away from me. Taking that as my que to get clear, I turned and ran back in the direction of Zoro, Luffy, and my sister.

Zoro had flipped the cannon over as Luffy had silently asked of him. To be honest, I was a little surprised that he was able to do this on his own. Not that exertion was good for him though, seeing as he was back on his knees and panting for breath.

Reaching them, I came to stop in a crouch next to Zoro. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I glanced down at his wound.

"Zoro, you going to be alright after that?" I asked him, as he waved me off.

"Don't worry about me right now." He told me, before glancing back at Nami. "Light it." he told her, as Nami nodded her head once. Reaching down next to her foot, she picked up what looked like a box of matches with Buggy's jolly roger on it. Taking one out, she struck it against the box to ignite it. Once it had a little flame on it, she put it to what was left of the fuse.

Seeing this, Buggy and his crew began to freak out. Nami had stopped the fuse from going off when the cannon was still pointed at Luffy. So now it was shortened, meaning that they didn't really have enough time to scream when it went off on them.

Like Zoro and I had observed at the docks, it gave off on hell of an explosion. One that left my ears ringing even though I covered them.

Once the explosion subsided, the entire area remained in a cloud of dust. If the four of us really wanted to escape, now was the time to do so. Looking up, I saw Zoro trying to drag Luffy's heavy cage across the roof top, blood dripping heavily from the wound on his side. A few feet away from him was Nami, looking at Luffy and Zoro with shock on her face.

Reminding myself to have a talk with her later, I moved towards Zoro.

"Hey, you need help moving this?" I asked him, only to have Zoro shake his head no.

"Just make sure Buggy's cronies don't follow us." he said, as I gave him a doubtful look. Zoro was getting a little too pale for my liking, but I did as he said. He did have a point after all.

Nami simply wasn't strong enough to help Zoro move the half concrete cage Luffy was in, plus Zoro wouldn't be able to fight very well in his condition anyway. That left me to defend our rear as we retreated.

"Alright." I said, as I moved back.

Giving me an appreiciative look, Zoro then glanced over at Nami.

"So she's your sister, huh?" he asked, as I looked over at Nami as well.

"Yeah. She is." I answered, as Luffy pipped up from his cage. "And our new navigator!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but give Luffy a drool stare.

"I'm not so sure about that. Who are you guys anyway?" Nami asked, as I shook my head no at her.

"I'll introduce everyone later, but let's just get out of here now." I suggested, as Nami nodded her head once.

Taking a deep breath, Zoro then set about painstaking lifting Luffy's cage up on his back. Even more blood began to spray from his wound as he did so. Moving towards the edge of the roof, Zoro set Luffy's cage down in order to let it slide off the edge of the roof to crash in the street down below. Panting for breath, Zoro peered over the edge to see if Luffy was alright, and to see if that broke the damn thing enough for Luffy to climb out.

Unfortunately, it only put a dent in the street. Luckily, Luffy wasn't hurt from the fall though. Now that Luffy was off the roof, Zoro began to follow suit. As he did so, Nami still held her surprised expression.

"I guess that." she began, sensing my gaze. "Even a lowly pirate can save his friend…" she said, as I looked back at the spot Zoro had last been in.

"Luffy isn't like most pirates, Nami." I told her, as she gave me a confused look.

"Asuna, you know how pirates are. What if he's just lying through his teeth at you? Sure, Luffy may act like a little kid from what I saw of him toady, but Zoro could be another story." Nami cautioned, as I placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Had I been anyone else, I'd be smacked upside my face. I and our older sister were the only ones who could touch Nami when she felt a raging amount of any emotion like this.

"Nami, how often do I travel with pirates and turn them in to the marines at the next island we stopped at?" I asked her, as she looked away.

"Nearly every time." she answered, as I crossed my arms.

"The last two chances I've had to turn in pirates for a reward, turned out to be a bust." I told her, as she gave me a bewildered look.

"Were you hurt? How did-" she began, as I shook my head no at her. Both to answer her question, and to get her to stop guessing.

"No… Like I keep telling you, I'll explain when we get out of here. You'd better go grab your staff while we still have cover. Once we catch up with Luffy and Zoro, I'll explain everything." I told her again, as she nodded her head once.

Turning, Nami ran back towards where Buggy had hopefully be blasted to next century. Thankfully, it didn't take Nami very long to find it. Where she had dropped it had put it off to the side of the explosion when it went off, so the weapon wasn't damaged. Picking it up, she ran back towards me.

Seeing as most of the dust was now gone, we said not another word as we made ourselves scarce. Climbing down the roof much like Zoro had. With him being injured the way he was, we figured it wasn't that difficult to navigate. More of his blood greeted us as we made our way down, and it pretty much created a trail as to where he and Luffy had gone. I wish I had enough time to try and cover our tracks, but blood was tricky to get rid of. Especially after it's rested on something for a few moments.

"Be ready in case we're followed. If need be, we'll let them see us before we split ways. If that does happen, then head for the docks. I'll try to find Zoro and Luffy in the mean time. Once I find them, I'll get them to hide somewhere before I come find you. Do the same if you happen to find them first. Alright?" I asked Nami, who gave me a conflicted look.

"While I can agree that Luffy isn't your typical pirate, I still say we should just get Buggy's chart and his treasure and get the hell out of here. But they did help save my life, so I'd like to give them this." Nami said, as she pulled a key form a hidden compartment she'd sewn into her shirt a while back. From the design on it, it looked like it might be the key to Luffy's cage. Glad that Nami wasn't going to resist me on this just yet, I nodded once to show her that I understood.

With that, Nami and I got going.

….….

Next Chapter: Chapter 4 - Welcome to the Circus

….….

Yay! Chapter 3 is done and I hope it was enjoyed. I'm off to try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can, so wish me luck!

Bugg18.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Welcome to the Circus

As Nami finished tying off the fresh bandage around my hand, I bit back the hiss that tried to fight its way from my throat. The cut had been shallow, and made with a sharp knife, but that didn't mean it wont hurt like hell though.

As for why my hand was bleeding, it was a necessary measure to try and delay Buggy from following the trail of blood Zoro had left in his wake. All it took was a good few blood spatters here and there down some alley ways and back streets. Once she was done with my hand, I watched as Nami turned an angry and confused look my way.

I could take a pretty good guess as to what she was thinking.

What was I doing traveling with a group of pirates I seemed to have no intention of handing over to the marines? Why would I bleed for two lowly scum of the same kind of monsters who ruined our lives? How could I betray the memory of our mother and fallen friends?

Knowing that I would need to sit down and have a talk with my sister, I gave her a serious look

"It's because they're not like any other pirates we've ever come across." I said, as Nami gave me a wide eyed look. "What? I figured since you didn't want to start down the list of questions, I would." I told her, as she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed heavily.

"Asuna, I can't be too sure of that. You know better than anyone else how deceptive pirates can be." Nami retorted, refusing to believe me for the moment.

Moving back to the real trail of blood Zoro had left behind in his escape with Luffy, I scoffed at my sister's words.

"I don't know how you came across Luffy, but I know you've met him. Poor kid can't lie to save his life." I said, as Nami huffed in agreement.

"I can't argue with you there. He did seem pretty stupid to me. But what about Zoro? He may not have seemed as stupid as Luffy, but his reputation still casts him as a dangerous fighter." she pointed out, as I turned my attention from her to concentrate on the trail.

"I could say the same damn thing about Buggy the Clown. His reputation _also_ casts him as a dangerous man, yet you try to take a forward approach to rob him blind." I reminded her as I spotted the next splatter of blood Zoro had left behind. "And thanks to Zoro, I might add, we lived long enough to see where that got you."

At this, Nami drew up short before a distasteful look crossed her face.

"That may be so, but what if he saved me because of an ulterior motive?" She asked, as I rolled my eyes in her direction.

"Alright then, would saving you grant a swordsman the ability to gain the title of the best in all of the seas?" I asked her sarcastically, as Nami's distasteful look turned into a confused one.

"What?" she asked, as she finally decided to follow behind me.

"Becoming the world's greatest swordsman is all Zoro cares about. When he joined Luffy's crew, he made it very clear that he would only join up in order to better follow his own ambition." I told her, as Nami gave me a wide eyed, surprised look.

"He does realize that the current holder of that title is a warlord of the sea, right? Fighting that guy would be a suicide mission!" Nami exclaimed. "That's about as crazy as if Luffy had said something like _I'm gonna be king of the pirates_." she said, as I all but tripped over my own running feet.

 _You have no idea, Sis._ I thought to myself.

"Look, we'll sit down and discuss this later. Right now, we need to find Luffy and Zoro. I don't know how long it'll take Buggy to send someone to find us. He no doubt wants all of us dead after that little trick with his cannon." I suggested, as Nami nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, alright." she said, as she turned her full attention to where we were going. "I got some news from back home anyway."

"Really now." I said, as Nami sent me a small, sad smile.

"Yeah. I'll show you the letter big sis managed to sneak out to us when we sit down to talk." she said, as I hummed my understanding.

Nami and I followed the trail for another ten minutes before we began finding scratches along the stone road. Probably from Luffy's cage. From the direction the trail was going, it looked like they were headed for the middle of town. Where the town square is more than likely located. A pretty risky place to go when people are hunting the streets for you. Then again, maybe in a twisted way, that was the smart thing to do.

If Buggy's crew are in the streets looking for you, how are they going to know to look for you in an open space like that. Sure the risk is still there, but it would at least buy you some time.

It wasn't until we came across some steps that led in that direction that we heard a familiar voice yelling at someone, along with what sounded like _barking_. Sure enough, when Nami and I got closer, we saw Luffy fighting with a little white dog who was trying to bite his face off.

"GET OFF, GET OFF, GET OFF, _GET OFF!_ " Luffy kept shouting, as Zoro gave the whole situation a pale _what the fuck_ expression. Finally getting tired of it, Zoro gave his captain an irritated, tired look.

"Luffy, would you stop goofing around and get serious for once in your rubbery life!" He shouted, before his face scrunched up in pain. Only to fall over a second later. Thankfully this was enough to get Luffy and the dog to let go of each other. Luffy muttering a _damn dog_ under his breath as Zoro looked like he was about ready to pass out.

Looking from the trio of crazies to me, Nami had an odd look on her face.

"Did all of that just happen?" she asked me, as I gave them a droll stare.

"As long as Luffy is in the picture, that shit is always possible." I warned her, as she looked back at them with an _oh_.

Now that things had calmed down a bit, Nami and I felt that it was safe to approach. Soon as Nami's shadow fell over Luffy, we had his attention plus a bright smile.

"Oh, hey Asuna! And navigator." he greeted, as I gave him a silent wave in hello. Nami on the other hand, gave him a somber smile of her own as she reached into her pocket to pull out the key she had gone back after before we vacated the area the pub use to sit in. Instead of saying hello, she just tossed the key to land within Luffy's reach.

"I guess you can have that. You and your friend did help Asuna to save my neck back there." She told him, as Luffy turned a bright smile of thanks her way.

"The key! Did you and Asuna go and steal it for me? Thanks you guys!" Luffy asked, as I nodded my head in Nami's direction.

"Don't thank me, Nami went back for it herself." I told him, as he and Zoro looked at my sister as well.

"I stole it so we'd be even. I don't owe you anything now, so we're all set now." Nami said, becoming a bit shy at the sudden gratitude she was being show by a pirate.

"Sure." Luffy agreed, as he began reaching for the key. Having been cramped up in there for probably a few hours, he was ready to get out of it. However, before he could so much as curl a finger around the key, the little dog he had been fighting with upon our arrival snapped it up in his jaws.

Before either of us could so much as blink, the little bastard gave us a fiendishly delighted look as he swallowed the damn thing. While Zoro, Nami, and I gave the little dog a worried _what the hell_ look, Luffy grabbed him by the throat and started shaking him.

" _DAMN STUPID DOG! THAT'S NOT FOOD! GIMME MY KEY! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE, GIVE, GIVE, GIVE!_ '

All I could do was stare at this little scene in shock. Was that dog suicidal or something? And did Luffy realize that he could kill the poor creature if he shook him around too much? Taking a deep breath, I began thinking about intervening when a new person showed up.

"Hey! Stop picking on Chouchou!" A voice shouted, as three out of the four of us turned to see who it was.

Heading towards us from the other side of the town square was an old man wearing some kind of oddly shaped armor, and a look that could kill on his face. Luffy on the other hand, kept fighting with the little dog, who I assumed was _Chouchou_. Not wanting our first impression to seem worse than what it already was, I walked over to the fighting pair. Reaching through the bars of the cage, I grabbed Luffy by the back of his vest while I grabbed Chouchou by the scruff of his neck; and like a pair of pups they went limp at my touch, making it easier to pull apart.

Once I had the dog out of Luffy's immediate reach, I set him down where I saw him go after the two separated the first time.

As I did this, the two began eyeing each other, challenging without words. Seeing this, I cleared my throat. Hearing it, Luffy glanced up at me with a pout, while the dog merely shifted his eyes away from Luffy's still caged form. Now that the two _children_ had settled down, the rest of us were finally able to turn our attention to our new visitor. The old man didn't look remotely like anything out of a circus, so I knew he wasn't from Buggy's crew. If I had to guess, then I'd say he was a part of the people who used to live here.

As he got closer, I could also tell that he still looked angry, but not like he wanted to murder us in our sleep anymore. When he made it to be about a few feet from us, he stopped.

"Who are you, old man?" Zoro asked him from where he leaned up against the front porch of the pet shop. And now that my attention was on him, I noticed the wound on his side once more. It wasn't bleeding as heavily as it was before, but there were still a few drops falling from it every few minutes.

" _Old man!?_ " The guy echoed, as he turned his glare on Zoro. "Why I'm Boodle, the mayor of this town." However, his glare wavered the moment he noticed Zoro's wound as well.

"Wow, that's quite an injury you have there." he observed out loud. "You lot must have had a run in with Buggy and his crew." he said, as I moved towards Zoro. Seeing me approach, Zoro gave me a suspicious look. Ignoring it, I squatted down to take a better look at it myself.

"Yeah we did." I answered the mayor, as I then turned back to Zoro. "You left a pretty clear blood trail behind you. In fact, that's how Nami and I were able to catch up to you guys so quickly." I told him, as I then held up my bandaged hand. "I did what I could to try and throw them off, but I don't know how much time I bought us."

Scoffing, Zoro looked from my hand to me.

"That was kind of extreme, don't you think?" He asked, as I sent him a small glare as I thrust my thumb in the direction of Luffy and his cage.

"And carrying Luffy's cage with your wounds isn't?" I asked him, as Zoro shrugged in response. Only to cringe in pain as the action pulled at his side.

"All of this crazy nonsense aside." Boodle interrupted, as we looked his way. "I'm guessing if you guys were running from Buggy, then it's pretty obvious that neither of you had time to treat your wounds properly. The rest of the towns folk set up camp outside of town. We have a doctor there I think the two of you should go and see."

Giving the old man a small, thankful smile, I shook my head no at him.

"That's really kind of you, but I'm afraid it's a bad idea for you to take us to your village." I said, as the man gave me a confused look.

"She's got a point. I move, I leave an easy trail to follow." Zoro said, catching on to my words.

"Meaning that if you go to that doctor I mentioned, Buggy and his goons will know where we've hidden ourselves." Boodle pieced together, as I nodded my head once.

"I'm no doctor myself, but I do know the basic first aid. So if there is a clinic near by Zoro can rest at, I can take a look at his wound." I suggested, as Zoro gave me a stubborn look.

"I don't need anybody to go poking at my side. I just need to sleep it off." He said, as I turned my glare back on him full force.

"You still haven't recovered from the three weeks you spent tied to a wooden post. If you loose much more blood than you already have, it could kill you. How are you supposed to beat Hawk Eye's Mihawk then, huh?" I asked him, only to freeze up inside at the words I had just spit out. And let me tell you, hell dropped another twenty degrees as the most serious look I've ever seen Zoro wear crossed his face.

It chilled me all the way to my very soul, the way he was currently looking at me. Like a predator thinking about closing in on it's next kill. Becoming uncomfortable with the atmosphere my stupid mouth had created, I reached up to pull my sunglasses from the top of my head to cover my eyes. Looking away, I caught the shocked look Nami had on her face, directed at me. Seeing it, I made myself clam up.

Thankfully, Luffy seemed to be looking at anything and everything instead of our little argument. And Mayor Boodle was inside the pet shop getting food for Chouchou while he thought about a place Zoro could rest in. Coming out of the shop, the mayor closed the door behind him as he moved to where Chouchou had been sitting the entire time he wasn't trying to turn Luffy into a chew toy.

Sitting the bowl of food before the dog, he waited until Chouchou began eating before he turned back to where I stood next to Zoro.

"My house is just across the square. I have a first aid kit in there you can use." he said, as I nodded my head once. Glancing back at Zoro, I watched as him as he watched me. Thankfully that cold look had warmed up some, but the seriousness remained. Grabbing one of his swords from his belt, Zoro slowly made his way to his feet. However, he stumbled a bit as he took the first step in the opposite direction the mayor had indicated.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped forward and ducked under the arm on Zoro's hurt side. Much like I had back on Rika's home island. Seeing me do this, Boodle decided to do the same. The moment he was supported between two people, Zoro muttered a small curse under his breath.

Rolling my eyes at the stubbornness, I began helping Boodle move him towards his house.

It took us a few minutes, but eventually we got him there. Boodle helped me to guide him to a guest room, where we sat Zoro on the bed. Handing me the first aid kit Boodle told me about, he then went back outside with Luffy and Nami to check on Chouchou. Once we were alone, I took the first aid kit to the bed and opened it. Sitting my bag down by the bed next to the sword Zoro had used to get up from the street, I grabbed a chair that sat up against the far wall of the room, I moved it to the bed next and took off my coat before sitting down to take a look at what I had. It had the basics in it, and didn't appear to be used in anyway. I went to reach in it for the disinfectant, but paused when I saw the really serious look on Zoro's face begin to return.

No doubt he was about to start grilling me on what I said back in the square.

"What do you know about _that man_?" He asked, as I leaned back in the chair. Taking a deep breath, I thought about what I should tell him. Sighing heavily, I began to undo the bandage around my hand.

"By _that man_ , I'm guessing you mean Dracule Mihawk. Am I right?" I asked Zoro, as the bandage came away from my hand. Like I had noticed of Zoro's wound earlier, the bleeding had slowed. It didn't need stitches, but it did need to be cleaned and re-wrapped. And seeing as Zoro wasn't going to be very cooperative at the moment, I saw no reason not to treat my hand first.

At Zoro's continued silence to my question, I couldn't help but believe that I was correct.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but you don't have to be a swordsman to know how legendary both the man and his sword is." I began, as moved my sunglasses to their normal place in my hair, as I cleaned my wound. The stinging sensation was there, but it wasn't something I couldn't handle. "Or to know just how far up the ladder his skill with the blade is either. If anything, the fact that he's the best is common knowledge if you pay attention to the news or politics related to the navy. Back at the marine base, when you said your ambition was to become the best, I knew right away who you had to defeat in order to accomplish that."

"Yeah, but for you to say it so plainly, then you've got to know more about him. Like where I could possibly find him, for example." Zoro said, as I began wrapping my hand in a fresh bandage.

"How much do you know of him besides that he's the best swordsman in all the oceans right now?" I asked Zoro in return. At my question, Zoro began to think about it. When silence once again reigned supreme, I couldn't help but sigh in aggravation. "So, that he's undefeated for many years now, and many people would piss themselves in fear of him. Got it." I muttered under my breath, as I tied off my bandage.

Sighing heavily for the hundredth time, I glanced at the hand Zoro was holding over his wound. Already some of his blood was seeping through his fingers. Getting an idea, I then gave Zoro a knowing look.

"Tell you what. I'll tell you all I know about Hawk Eyes Mihawk, but only if you let me treat your wound as I talk. You make me stop working on it, then I stop talking, agreed?" I asked him, holding out my hand for him to shake in order to strike a deal.

Zoro stared at my hand like it was going to bite him or something for a full minute as he debated on my terms. After a moment, he finally came to a decision as his hand enveloped mine. The callouses I could feel in his hand were thick. A testament as to how hard Zoro's been training pretty much his whole life if I had to guess. Shaking my hand once, Zoro let go, as did I.

Seeing as we had a deal, I took the last two swords Zoro removed from his haramaki to their sibling before moving back to help him remove the haramaki itself. Once we had that off, all Zoro had to do was lift the hem of his shirt in order for me to get a good look at the wound. It went through his side, but I could easily bandage it up without having to stitch it up. Before I did that though, it needed to be cleaned up. Reaching for the disinfectant, I began cleaning the wound. Zoro hissed from the sting, but otherwise he didn't make a sound. Now that Zoro was keeping up his end of the deal, it was my turn to do the same.

"Okay… You know that Hawk Eyes Mihawk is the world's best swordsman currently. After he gained and held the title for the first few years, the navy added him to the ranks of the seven warlords of the sea." I began, as Zoro grunted his understanding of what I was saying.

"How the hell did they manage to do that?" Zoro asked, as I paused for a second. Forcing myself to keep from reacting, I went right back to working. If Zoro didn't notice, he did say.

"I'm not sure. Rumor has it that the World Government made him an offer he couldn't refuse. I don't know if he joined them because of this offer, or he could have been bored out of his mind for all I know, but joining them is what happened. So he's able to go where he wants, when he wants to seeing as he's under the protection of the World Government." I said, as I finished cleaning the wound. Reaching for another roll of bandages, I began binding some gauze to Zoro's side. "I also know that he's faced and _killed_ many people who've challenged him for that title. So you'll have your work cut out for you when the day comes that you get to face him."

"I'll definitely get to see when that time comes then, won't I?" Zoro agreed, much to my surprise as I tied off the bandage. Now that I was done, I closed the first aid kit, and set it on the floor near one of the legs of the bed.

"I guess so. I've heard that he rarely strays from the Grand Line, but when he does it's because he was sent by the World Government. Or-" I began, as Zoro laid back on the bed.

" _Or_ someone's pissed him off." Zoro finished, as a small laugh left my throat. Ignoring the death glare sent my way, I tried my best to sober up.

"Yeah, more like disturbing his beauty sleep though." I said, as Zoro rolled his eyes. He probably thought that I was being sarcastic, but what he didn't know was that I wasn't. Not that I would ever tell him that though. Zoro was already asking some dangerous questions because of my big mouth. I didn't want to say or cause him to ask even more dangerous ones. "That's all I know about Hawk Eye himself. The legendary sword he carries though, I've been studying that nearly my whole life." I said, as Zoro glanced at me from where he was now lying on his back.

"Why's that?" He asked, as I thought about the dream I had long ago put to bed.

Then, in a moment of insanity, I began to wonder if I could trust Zoro with that knowledge. I couldn't deny the current feeling to tell someone about my long lost dream. To pretend that I hadn't let it die eight years ago when my hometown went to hell.

 _What the hell… Nami and I will put him and Luffy, and whoever else joins between now and then behind us soon enough._ I decided, as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Ever since I learned how to forge my first blade, I've wanted to learn the secrets of forging the Wazamono swords. Hawk Eye's sword is from the line of twelve _Saijo O Wazamono_ swords. Supposedly the secrets to forging these swords lies somewhere in the Grand Line. They won't be an easy thing to find either." I answered him.

Humming in thought, Zoro looked from me to the ceiling.

"I have to say that I'm surprised at you." he said, as I gave him a wary glance.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, as he glanced back at me.

"You know that Luffy and I are heading for the Grand Line. If the secrets you're looking for are there, I don't understand why you won't make up your mind and come with us." he said, as I looked away.

"Look, as tempting as that offer might be, I don't think it's possible for me right now. We found my sister, but we might have to go our own way by the time we get away from Buggy and is crew." I told him, as Zoro faced the ceiling once more.

"Good luck trying to tell Luffy that." he said, as he closed his eyes.

"I'll try to think of something." I said, as I stretched my arms above my head. "Any ideas?" I asked, only to be met with soft snores.

Giving Zoro an odd look at his ability to fall asleep about as fast as his captain was able, I couldn't help but shake my head in amusement. Amusement that died a moment later as I began to feel a bit of guilt. I had lied to Zoro when I said I'd tell him everything about Hawk Eye's Mihawk. I knew a few more things about him than that, but it wasn't anything that would help him in his quest to find and defeat him.

And the offer he gave me, it wasn't as direct to the point as Luffy's, but it was an offer to join a crew of potential friends. Yet, I couldn't…

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the letter from Bellemere again. The last time I pulled this out to read it, I only got half way through before Luffy interrupted me. I don't know why, but my conversation with Zoro had me wanting to read the rest. So I opened it, and went back to my place.

(Seeing as the first half of Bellemere's letter to Asuna is in another chapter, I'll be posting it below after this chapter.)

" _Yep, your dad is_ _Dracule Hawk Eyes Mihawk._

 _Explains where your love of swords comes from, huh? Anyway, your mother fought and lost against Hawk Eye. As the winner, Hawk Eye could have killed Annabelle for challenging him, but something he saw in her spirit caused him to hesitate. In the end, he decided to let her live. For a total of three more years, Annabelle kept going back to challenge him for his title, only to loose time and time again. As time continued on, she found that she was beginning to love the matches she had with Hawk Eye. A love that spread from the matches to the man himself._

 _Not long after discovering this, Annabelle soon learned that your father had begun to love her as well. They had a pirates wedding after that, and settled on the island to await the arrival of their first child._

 _A child they named Dracule Asuna; You._

 _You got to live with them for the very first year of your life, before the World Government coldly tore your family apart. From what Annabelle had told me before her death, she and your father had wanted to put their lives as pirates behind them. Settle permanently on the island and raise the family they had just started. Only, the government decided that it wasn't going to have it._

 _In becoming the best, your father had accumulated a lot of power. Power the World Government wanted to harness and use for it's own interests. At first, they offered your father the chance, but he refused. An answer the navy refused to accept._

 _They stormed the island before your father could return for you and your mother, and took you both into custody. When Hawk Eye reached the two of you, the navy met him with an offer he couldn't refuse. Either join an alliance with the World Government and become a member of the Seven Warlords of the sea, or be forced to watch as you and your mother were executed for piracy._

 _Not wanting anything to happen to either of you, Hawk Eye had no other choice but to agree and comply with the terms the navy set. To join the warlords, and maintain distance between himself and you, and your mother. A distance that had to be kept at all times, least he find you and your mother dead upon arrival at your location._

 _And that is the story of your origins. Not long after Annabelle told me this story, the island was attacked by a group of pirates who had just come out of the Grand Line. They killed nearly every one on the island. Your mother Annabelle fought bravely, but she became overwhelmed. By the time the attack had subsided, most of the villagers and my entire unit had been slaughtered as well. I was about to join them when Nojiko came across me with you and Nami._

 _As for the rest, I've already told you that story. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this earlier. I just wanted you to have a normal, happy childhood. A childhood that, as I write this letter, I hoped you had. And like I wrote earlier, I will always love you as my daughter Asuna. Never forget that. And if I really am gone, then I want you girls to look out for each other. Tell Nami and Nojiko that I love them, and to follow their hearts. The same goes for you too baby girl. Take care of yourselves._

 _With love always,_

 _Bellemere."_

(Seeing as the first half of Bellemere's letter to Asuna is in another chapter, I'll be posting it below after this chapter.)

It's true.

The man Zoro desires to fight for the title of the best, is my father. Right after Bellemere's death, and I was taken by Arlong, Genzo handed me this letter when he was able to see me next. For the last eight years, I've known my real name, but I've never been able to go by it.

The fact that Hawk Eye was my father needed to, and still needs to be kept a secret from Arlong. If he were to find out, he would kill me. Hawk Eye being a warlord, and me being his daughter would make me a liability in his eyes. To him, keeping me alive at that point would be too big of a risk seeing as Navy HQ would be drawn to what he's been doing on my home island. And who knows how many people he would kill in addition to me as well. No, he couldn't find out.

Hell, I'm scared of even letting Nami find out about it.

However, after meeting Zoro and seeing the luck Luffy's tends to have first hand, it might actually be a bad idea to keep her in the dark much longer. I know I said that it was rare for my father to leave the Grand Line, but that didn't make it an impossible thing to happen.

Making up my mind to tell Nami about it once we set sail from this place, I got up from my chair. Placing it back where I found it, I then grabbed my coat, and folded it up to place in it with my sunglasses on top. I didn't think Zoro was going to freak out at waking up by himself, but I would feel better if I left my coat behind for him to see. A little sign that we were still in the area, if you will. Besides, there's not anyone on this island who could directly connect my eye color to Hawk Eye anyway. As for my bag, I figured Boodle wouldn't mind if I left it by the bed Zoro was using. Minus the hair tie I pulled from it, of course.

I could still feel my daggers in my boots, so I turned to leave as I placed the unused hair tie on my wrist for later use.

As I made my way back outside, I spotted Boodle closing the pet shop back up as he explained the reason why Chouchou was sitting out by himself in a pirate infested town. All the while, Chouchou finished eating and began to clean his bowl of all the crumbs.

"Chouchou is sits here like this because he's guarding the pet store behind him. A good friend of mine opened it after he got Chouchou as a puppy. After my friend passed three months back from an illness he'd fought for many years, I took on the responsibility for Chouchou." Boodle explained, as he finished closing the pet shop up once more.

"Don't tell me he's been waiting for his master to return this entire time." Nami said, as Boodle gave Chouchou a sad look.

"That's what most of the townsfolk seem to think." Boodle answered, as he sat down on the porch and pulled out a pipe.

"And you don't think that's the case." I said, as Nami, Luffy, and Boodle all looked my way.

"Hey, Asuna. How's Zoro?" Luffy asked, eager to know the condition of his friend.

"Sleeping. It took some convincing to get him to let me take a look at his wound. Like Buggy said after he stabbed him, no vital organs were hit, so he didn't really need stitches. Some rest over a few days, and he should be fine." I answered before turning my attention back to Boodle. "Any how, the way you said that made it sound like you had another theory on why Chouchou keeps guarding the store, right?" I asked him, eager to get the attention off of me as Boodle nodded his head once.

"Yes… I find it very hard to believe that. I know that Chouchou is a smart dog. No doubt that he's known for a while that his master isn't coming back. Hell, some times I look at him, and I feel like Chouchou senses that his master is no longer a part of this world as well." he answered, as Chouchou decided that his food bowl was clean enough.

Picking it up, Chouchou brought it back to the porch, and set it down to be picked up later. Moving back to where he was while he ate, Chouchou sat back down, and faced forward.

"It puzzled me for quite a while why he stayed here once he realized this. I even tried to take him to my house so he wouldn't be out in the elements. But he either refused, and the one day I tried to drag him, he latched on to my hand until I let him go. And right back here he would go. The only reason I can think of, is that this shop is Chouchou's only connection remaining between him and his master. It's like it's his treasure or something." Boodle explained, as we all looked at the little dog.

Chouchou on the other hand, kept guarding the store. He would glance our way every few minutes, but he didn't move or make a sound. Not even when the ground began to shake and growl.

 _Wait… The ground is shaking, but an earthquake doesn't sound like an animal._ I thought, as I began looking around trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. However, the sound kept echoing off the surrounding buildings, so it made it impossible to tell.

"What's going on?" Nami asked, as Boodle began to turn a bit pale and scared. Apparently he knew what was coming our way. Figuring that a fight was probably going to be coming up, I took the hair tie from my wrist and used it to pull my hair into a pony tail.

"Mayor Boodle, what is it?" I asked him, as he looked at me. I don't know why, but I guess calling him was enough to make him snap out of his shocked, scared state.

"It's Beast Tamer Mohji! We gotta go!" he practically shouted, as Nami began to get nervous as well.

" _Beast Tamer_!? What do you mean _we've gotta go_!?" Nami asked him, as Boodle began to inch away.

"Wait a minute, what about Luffy!?" I asked the two just as they were about to pass me. I had expected them to stop and answer me, instead Nami grabbed one arm and Boodle grabbed the other and began dragging me along behind them.

"Hey! Let go!" I shouted at them, only to be ignored. I could have easily broke their hold on me, but with Nami being my sister and Boodle being an old man, I was scared I'd hurt them or something. So I had no choice but to be dragged away with them.

I glanced back at Luffy, but because of the concrete top and bottom of his cage, I couldn't see him.

Once we left the square, I'm pretty sure Nami and Boodle had ran a few blocks before they ducked around a house and finally released me. Soon as he let me go, Boodle hunched over trying to catch his breath. Nami on the other hand, gave me a glare.

"Why the hell weren't you trying to run away, Asuna!" she fussed, as I gave her a droll stare. "I'm not sure who that _Beast Tamer_ the mayor was talking about is, but I know you could hear whatever the hell was coming!"

At this, I couldn't help but return the glare Nami was giving me.

"So, you're saying that I shouldn't have tried to stay and help Luffy, and instead I should have run away to save my own skin?" I asked her, as she gave me an exasperated look.

"You said so yourself that Luffy was a pirate." She shot back, as I sighed heavily.

"I told you he wasn't like the other pirates we've seen before." I reminded her, as she waved my words away.

"I'll believe that when I see it. Pirates lie, they steal, and they murder people. What else do pirates need to do to make you understand that they are all scum that should be wiped form the face of the earth?" Nami demanded, as I crossed my arms across my chest. "I guarantee you, that it's only a matter of time before Luffy and Zoro's real colors come out. If we stick around them for too long, who knows whats going to happen."

I opened my mouth to retort, but stopped when I realized what we were doing. I also realized just how long it's been since _this_ happened between Nami and I. I couldn't help but start laughing at this.

Hearing it, Nami's glare went from irritation to being down right murderous.

"What the hell is so damn funny!?" she snapped at me. At this, I couldn't help but laugh harder.

"H-How long has it been…" I began, trying to breathe. "Since w-we last had a fight?" I asked her, as the situation finally dawned on her. The moment she did, she began looking at me like I'd grown two heads or something. The look didn't last long though, for Nami soon found herself joining me in my fit.

It was the very first time since our troubles began eight years ago, that we were able to laugh with each other this way. Deep in my heart though, I knew that this wasn't going to last. Just for once, long as we were by Luffy and Zoro's side, we could pretend that we weren't in the situation we were in. That this feeling doesn't have to end. Until this eight year storm with Arlong and his crew was over, we won't be feeling this way again.

"Would you two keep it down!" Boodle half yelled at us, giving us enough pause to begin sobering up. "If you keep making so much noise we'll be found by Mohji the Beast Tamer, and be torn to ribbons."

At his words though, I felt my eyes widen at shock.

"Oh shit…" I cursed under my breath, as I remembered who the three of us had left at the mercy of _Mohji the Beast Tamer_. Not that I was worried Luffy would be squashed mind you, seeing as he was rubber, but that didn't mean his rubbery skin couldn't be torn by sharp fangs.

"Asuna, what is it?" Nami asked, as I turned to face her.

"We forgot Luffy back there." I simply stated. Before anyone can answer me though, something wearing red and faded blue came crashing through the top of the house we were currently hiding behind. Turning to see what it was, I bet I was just as surprised as Nami and Mayor Boodle was to find the very kid I had just mentioned. Muttering all the while about kicking the asses of the Buggy pirates, and convincing Nami and I to join his crew.

Ignoring that, Nami gave Luffy a look that was a cross between worried and freaked the hell out. An expression I was sure Boodle and I both wore as well.

"How the hell did you survive that?" Nami asked him, as Luffy looked over at us.

"I just got lucky is all." He answered, as I felt a bead of sweat run down my head.

"I'll say." I muttered to myself, as Boodle nodded his head once in agreement.

"Surviving an attack like that isn't natural! Normally a person hit with an attack like that would be scattered all over the place." she freaked, as I crossed my arms over my chest, a small sigh leaving me.

 _If only you knew how_ abnormal _this kid is, Nami._ I thought to myself, as Luffy stood to his feet, straightening his hat as he went.

"Wait, it's not normal?" he asked, actually sounding confused at this. This question went unanswered though, seeing as it had my sister flabbergasted that he would even bother to ask such a thing.

As for Mayor Boodle, he had begun to sober up from his fright and shock, and had begun to give Luffy and suspicious look.

"Alright, just who the hell are you, what brings you to this island? And how in the hell did you get involved with those damn pirates!?" Boodle began questioning, as Luffy dusted off the seat of his shorts. Hearing him, Luffy just gave him his monkey grin.

"I just came to find a chart of the Grand Line, and a good Navigator to join my crew. Oh, and to help Asuna find her sister, which I've already done." Luffy answered, as he faced in the direction he had come flying from. "Sorry, but I've got to go now. That bastard in the animal suit wants to kill Zoro, so I've gotta make sure he doesn't find him!" he called over his shoulder as he took off.

Sighing heavily, I reached for the daggers in my boots. Seeing me, Nami grabbed my arm.

"Asuna, what do you think you're doing!? It's dangerous back there!" Nami protested, as I gently removed her hand from my arm.

"If you're too frightened to go back, then just stay here with the mayor." I told her, as Nami huffed at me. "Oh, don't give me that. I'll be fine so long as I don't get in Luffy or the Mohji guy's way. Besides, I left some of my stuff back there that I need to get back. And if Zoro does kick the bucket, then I want to be there to pinch his white sword before the Buggy pirates do. Bunch of scum don't deserve to have such a beautiful weapon." I told her, as Nami rolled her eyes.

"Oh, fine. It's not like I'm going to be able to make you stay any way." Nami sighed, as she placed a hand on her hip and pointed the opposite at me. "Just be careful." she warned, as I nodded my head once.

Happy that I won't hear a lecture over this later on, I then took off after Luffy. It took a bit of extra effort, but I was able to catch up to Luffy, and yet… We still ended up arriving back to the town square too late.

When we were still a few blocks out, we could see smoke rising up into the sky from the place where Chouchou's shop was located. Seeing it had me becoming a bit worried for the little dog's safety. Depending on what sort of beast Mohji had with him, that little dog could have been eaten along with whatever was in that place.

As we arrived, we found Chouchou sitting before the blaze, howling in sorrow. His snowy white fur was tainted with dirt and blood. It was easy to tell that the little dog had taken quite a beating in trying to defend his shop from the intruders. Seeing this, I felt my hands clench into fists.

For the first time since I began this journey with Luffy, I was reminded that not all pirates were of the same mind as Monkey D. Luffy. Many of them still held a similar cruelty to Arlong.

Beside me, Luffy took one last look at Chouchou before he pushed his straw hat far up enough that it covered his, for once, serious eyes. Eye's similar to that which he showed back at the marine base we found Zoro, and he defeated Axe Hand Morgan. Due to this, I could sort of figure out what he was thinking about doing.

"Asuna, do you mind looking after him?" Luffy asked me, referring to Chouchou.

"Not at all. Give that bastard an extra kick in the ass for me, will you?" I asked him in return. Giving me a nod, Luffy then began running in the direction of the now faint rumbling that still echoed throughout the town. Once he was out of sight, I then turned to move towards Mayor Boodle's house. Going to the guest room Zoro still snored in, I quietly grabbed the first aid kit and my bag before heading back out to the square.

By now, Chouchou had gone quiet. He didn't growl or bark at me either as I cleaned his wounds. Once I was done, I moved back and let the little dog be as he stared at the still burning store with sorrowful eyes. Thankfully, the pet shop wasn't attached to anything, and there was barley any wind, so it had very little chance to sending anything else up in flames along with it.

I don't know how long I stood there with Chouchou, but eventually Nami and the mayor found there way back to the square. Seeing the fire, Boodle became somber, while Nami had a haunting pained look on her face. Not long after that, Luffy found his way back as well. He still had that serous look in his eyes as he carried himself over to where Chouchou still sat. The last box of dog food from the shop in his hands.

 _As I expected, Mohji the Beast Tamer was defeated_. I thought, as I glanced over at Nami. She still held a similar look to what I did when Luffy and I had come upon the flaming pet shop. The moment she saw Luffy, however, a bit of anger was added to the mix.

"Pirates can be such cold hearted bastards." Nami began, as she turned a scathing look at Luffy. "Oh, and I see that you're still alive, _pirate_."

Pausing in his steps, Luffy turned to look at Nami as well. Seeing as he had her attention, Nami turned to face him. Not liking where this seemed to be going, I took careful steps towards my sister. She wasn't here when Luffy left to track Mohji down, and it seemed like she didn't notice the box of food Luffy had managed to take back as well.

"You know, I was really hoping that that _Beast Tamer_ or whatever was going to have his monster rip your head off. Making it one less pirate in the word." Nami continued, as she began to walk towards Luffy. "And who knows, maybe I should just kill you right now!? That way you can't go out to sea and hurt anyone!" she shouted, as she made to grab for Luffy.

However, she didn't really get the chance to, seeing as I reached her, and grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Come on Nami, that's enough." I told her gently, only for her to rip her arm from my grasp.

"Don't say that! You know more than anyone else here why pirates are the scum of the earth! You should have handed him and his friend over to the marines a long time ago or killed them!" Nami shouted at me, as she tried to go around me one more time.

Sighing heavily, I waited until Nami had gotten past me before I grabbed her by her arms and pulled her back away from Luffy.

"Asuna, let go of me!" she shouted at me, as I ignored her. Deep down, I knew that if I listened to her and let her do as she had threatened it, she would come to regret it deeply.

"As if you could kill me." Luffy told her matter of factually. Not really helping the situation much.

"Oh really, how about I try it and see!" she shouted back at him, as I whirled her around to face me. I even gave her a quick shake to get her attention.

"I told you to _stop_!" I told her forcefully, as Nami gave me a hard glare.

"And I told _you_ to _let me go_." she shot back, as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Okay then. Fine, I'll let you go. But you had better take a good look at the situation before you decide to do something you'll end up regretting." I told her, as I turned her to face Luffy once more.

Seeing as I had stopped Nami from beating him into a pulp, Luffy was actually able to reach Chouchou. Nami, who had been squirming at this point, stopped when I forced her to watch as Luffy placed the last box of dog food before Chouchou, and sat down next to him. At this, all traces of anger Nami had vanished, as a look of shock and confusion returned to her face.

"Sorry pup, but that's all I could get back from that bastard lion. Dumb ass ate the rest of it before I could get to him." Luffy told Chouchou, as he looked from him to the remnants of the shop. By now, the fire had burned itself out. You could see a few embers here and there, but that was it. "I didn't see it, but I could tell that you fought well to defend the store."

Hearing this, and feeling Nami relax finally, I let her go. Soon as I did though, she turned to face me.

"He fought Mohji and his _lion_ to get the dog's food back." Nami stated out loud. I could sense the question, although it wasn't stated.

"When Luffy and I arrived here, Chouchou was pretty battered. While Luffy ran ahead to take care of the pirates, I stayed back and treated him. Poor little guy was so dazed at the time that I think he barely registered me touching him." I told her, as we looked up in time to see Chouchou pick up the last box of dog food in his mouth. Once he had it, he began heading in the opposite direction of the harbor.

Just before he left the square, Chouchou dropped the box long enough to glance back at Luffy, and give him what I guessed was a bark of thanks.

"Thanks, dogie. Good luck to you too!" Luffy called after him, as Chouchou grabbed his food once more and disappeared from sight.

After he was gone, Nami walked over to Luffy with an apologetic expression on her face.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." she said, as Luffy's serous look disappeared from his face, as his monkey grin showed back up.

"No need to apologize. You've been under a lot of stress lately." Luffy said, as he got back on his feet. "Besides, I know that you don't like pirates, and I am one. So don't sweat it."

As Luffy began dusting off his pants, Nami moved back over to where I was.

"And I'm sorry that I didn't believe you before, Asuna. You told me they weren't your typical pirates, and I can see that now." Nami said, as I waved her off.

"To quote Luffy, _no need to apologize_." I told her. I would have told her more, but a distressed sound from the mayor had us turning to face him.

"I can't believe it… Chouchou and these young ones have been fighting so hard. I'm the mayor of this town, but I've been sitting idle while Buggy and his crew have been destroying this town!" Mayor Boodle said, as anger and sorrow laced his town. "Fourty years ago, the citizens of this town and I built this place from the ground up. We prospered and grew to love the rugged land we had made into our own. This town is the treasure to the people who live here." Boodle ranted, as he held up his fists in determination.

"From here on out, I refused to let Buggy terrorize us any more!" Boodle shouted, as Luffy gave him an even bigger grin. Nami on the other hand kept trying to calm him down. Not that I could blame her. A guy his age could hurt his health if he gets too excited.

However, our words of calm weren't really needed. Considering Boodle was snapped out of his rant when another huge explosion rocked the entire town once more.

There was one bigger problem in this explosion though. Boodle's house was the last one in the line of houses that had been destroyed.

"My house…" Boodle whimpered out, as Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Aaaaahhh! Zoro was sleeping in there!" He shouted, as I cringed at the noise, as I remembered something about that house as well.

"I left my coat and my bag in there too." I said in dismay, as I began praying that it somehow made it. It took me quite a long time to perfect how I made the leather for that coat and the bag.

"Either way, both he and all of your stuff has been blown to bits now…" Boodle muttered, as he looked at the rubble that use to be his home in dismay.

Boodle and I were both drawn from our dismay when Luffy ran forward and began looking through the debris of Boodle's house for Zoro. Calling to him all the while. Sighing, I moved forward as well. Both to help Luffy find Zoro, and in order to find what was left of my shit as well.

"Hey Zoro! Are you dead!?" Luffy shouted into the mess, as I rolled my eyes.

"Just keep looking Luffy, he may have been knocked further unconscious by the blast." I told him, as he nodded his head vigorously and went back to searching. Only to trip over something as he went to move forward. Catching himself, Luffy looked back to see what he had been caught on. Picking it up, he then looked over at me.

"Hey, Asuna. Isn't this yours?" he asked, holding up my coat for me to see as I looked over. Upon seeing it, I felt relief.

"Yeah! Do you see my bag anywhere?" I called over, as I made my way to Luffy. Giving a quick look around, Luffy just shrugged his shoulders.

"Nope, sorry." He said as I reached him. Thanking him, I took it, and put it back on. With that, Luffy then turned to call out to Zoro again, but paused when he heard a curse just a few feet away from us.

"Damn it! That's one hell of a wake up call." we heard Zoro mutter, as Luffy and I looked in his direction.

At seeing him, Luffy laughed as he grinned really wide. As for me on the other hand, I was happy to see that Zoro was alright. However, I wasn't too happy to see what Zoro had partially been buried under. The remnants of my bag and the shit that had I had been carrying it in. My coat had survived, but my bag wasn't so lucky.

 _Great_ …

Cursing under my breath, I followed Luffy as he moved closer to Zoro. When we got closer, I spared Zoro's side a single look. Thankfully the bandages hadn't soaked through with blood, so he wasn't any worse for the wear at least. Seeing as Zoro was fine, I then set about picking through what was left of my things as Luffy danced around in happiness. Nami on the other hand looked like she had about enough of abnormal things for the day.

"I can't let Buggy get away with this…" I heard the mayor say, as the rest of us paused in what we were doing to glance this way. Boodle was facing the direction of the line of houses that had just been destroyed by Buggy and his _Buggy Balls_ as I had heard they were called. "I am the mayor of this town, I and refuse to let Buggy destroy what all the townspeople under my care have been working for all these years… _I SWEAR UNTIL MY LAST BREATH!_ " Boodle shouted, as he reached for one of the spears that rested across his back before running forward.

Before he could take more than a few steps, Nami latched on to the back of his armor in order to try and stop him.

"Hold on! There's no way you can defeat Buggy _and_ his crew!" she protested, as Boodle kept fighting to go forward.

"Maybe so, but a man can't run from every fight! Isn't that right?" he asked, as Luffy gave Boodle a look of admiration.

"Right!" he agreed, as Boodle doubled his efforts to escape my sister's grasp.

"Shut up, Luffy!" Nami snapped, sending Luffy a glare. "It's too dangerous for him to go after Buggy, so stop encouraging him!" she said, as Boodle whirled around on her before anyone else could say a word.

" _I KNOW IT'S DANGEROUS!_ " he shouted at her, surprising Nami just enough that her grip on his armor went slack. Not wasting his opportunity, he took off before any of us could get our bearings in time to snag him again.

Yet, he wasn't fast enough to keep us from seeing his tears…

" _I'M COMING AFTER YOU BUGGY!_ " Boodle shouted, as he moved out of our sight.

Now that the spectacle was over, I turned back to my task of looking through my things to keep a lid on my own emotions. Nami was right about it being dangerous for the old man, but there was no way in hell I was going to try and stop him. Unlike Nami and I, Boodle would be able to get the thorn Buggy made himself to be, out of his side. In fact, I wish him luck. Putting that from my mind, I put my emotions out of my mind. As for my search, so far I've only managed to find a single intact bottle of weapons polish. Getting to his feet, Zoro moved to get out of the rubble he had woken up in. Soon as he moved, I was able to finish looking through my shit.

Giving another curse under my breath, I called off my so called search. Only three things had survived that blast. My coat, weapons polish, and Zoro…

"Was the old man crying?" I heard Nami ask, as she finally began coming out of her shock.

"I don't know. If he was, I hadn't noticed." Luffy said, pointedly ignoring the fact that he was. A man's pride in all that if any one asked me. Seeing as no one did though, I just kept my mouth shut.

"Either way, the up coming party is starting to get more interesting." Zoro said, as Luffy laughed in glee.

"Hang on, this isn't the time to be laughing! What are we gonna do about the mayor?" Nami asked, worry creeping into her voice.

Hearing it, Luffy glanced over at her with a grin.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I've decided that I like the old guy, so I'm not gonna let him die." Luffy told her, as Nami tilted her head to the side in confusion. Only for that to turn to alarm as Zoro walked passed all of us in the direction Boodle had disappeared in, taking his bandanna off his arm as he walked.

"Wait, you're going too! But your injured!" she protested, as Zoro tied his bandanna to his head.

"What about it? The wound to my reputation's worse than the wound to me." Zoro told her, as he kept on walking. Following after his swordsman, Luffy gave Nami and I a glance as he passed us.

"I know one thing, if we want to get to the Grand Line, then we need to steal that chart back from Buggy." Luffy said, as he paused. Turning around to look at Nami, Luffy gave her a big grin. Sensing that his captain had stopped, Zoro turned to glance back as well.

"So, are you two gonna join my crew or what?" Luffy began as he held out a hand. "Come on, it'll be a lot of fun. And you promised me an answer to this question once we found your sister Asuna. Now that we've found Nami, it's time for an answer."

Sighing heavily, I moved out of the rubble myself. Walking over to stand next to my sister, I placed two fingers on the back of Luffy's hand, and moved it so that it rested in front of Nami. The moment I spotted Nami about to be killed by Buggy and his crew, I knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before Luffy sprang this question upon me again. Luckily for me, I had figured out what my answer was going to be after he got kidnapped by that bird.

"Alright, here's my answer. I'll only join you and your crew if you can convince Nami to join. She joins, I'll join; but if not, then I won't either." I said, as Luffy turned a determined look Nami's way, while my sister glanced daggers mine.

Sighing heavily, Nami looked away from me once she realized that I wasn't taking it back. Giving Luffy a serious expression, she slapped his hand away.

"I have no intentions to sink to the level of some lowly pirate." she began, as her serious look turned into a smirk. "However, Asuna and I wouldn't oppose to teaming up with you a bit. If you need to steal that chart from Buggy, who better to ask than a pirate thief? Am I right, Asuna?" Nami asked me, as I nodded my head once.

"Right. I owe Buggy a good punch to that huge ass nose of his for ruining my bag anyway." I agreed, as Luffy gave us a grin.

"Not want I wanted to hear, but this will work for now." Luffy agreed, as I saw a wary look cross Zoro's face. I knew that he didn't have a problem with me, so it had to be there because of Nami. Not that I could blame him. He's a pirate, and Nami's a pirate thief.

Sighing heavily, Zoro then began walking.

"Since that's settled, then we need to get going if we want to save the old man." he said, as his voice began to get closer to us. Turning a look his way, I saw that he was now heading towards us instead of the direction we needed to go.

"Zoro, turn around." I said, as he gave me a confused look.

"Why? We need to get going." he protested, as I gave him a pointed look.

"Yes we do, but we need to go in the _correct direction_." I said, as Zoro gave me a wide eyed look. Once he realized what he had just done, his face began turning beet red as he whirled around to face the right direction, and marched forward. Seeing this, I couldn't help the soft snort of laughter that escaped me.

Oblivious as to what just happened with his first mate, Luffy turned and began heading towards Buggy's camp. Muttering something about catching up to Boodle before taking off ahead of us.

"Great… Zoro had no sense of direction, does he?" Nami asked, as I shook my head no.

"Not that I've seen. That being said, we'd better catch up and over take his lead. Who knows where we'll end up if we don't." I suggested, as Nami nodded her head once. After that, we took off at a run as well. Just in time too, for Zoro nearly went down the wrong street again. As we caught up with Luffy, we had a few more of these incidents, but thankfully Nami and I were able to help keep Zoro on track. By the time we caught up with the mayor, Boodle had already tried to engage Buggy in battle.

Luckily for Boodle, Luffy was there to pull Buggy's _unattached_ hand from Boodle's throat. Holding it in a death grip, Luffy held up Buggy's hand as he eased Boodle to the ground by the front of his armor as Buggy gave him a death glare and an angry growl.

" _YOU AGAIN!_ " Buggy shouted with an angry snort, trying to make his detached hand return to it's proper place on his arm, while Luffy gave him a smirk.

"I'm here to kick your ass just like I promised, Buggy." Luffy told him, his smirk never fading as he finally decided to let Buggy's hand return to him. Once it reattached to his arm, Buggy focused all of his attention on Luffy.

"Damn straw hat bastard…" Buggy called down to him, as he became even angrier. "You think you can just waltz up here and do shit like that to me! _I'M CAPTAIN BUGGY AND I WON'T STAND FOR IT!_ " he shouted, baring his teeth at Luffy. Then at Nami, Zoro, and me as we arrived to stand behind Luffy and Boodle.

Speaking of Boodle, he was still coughing a bit from the rough handling from Buggy.

"Why did you follow me here?" Boodle wheezed at us, as he tried to take breaths as deeply as he could. "You lot are outsiders, so please, just leave this to me." Boodle begged of us, as he reached for his fallen spear. "This is my town, so I need to be the one to defend it. Buggy is my fight!" he yelled, as he got to his feet. Only to find himself face down on the street, knocked out cold via Luffy shoving his face into a wall.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but look between Boodle's unconscious form and Luffy who was dusting his hands against each other in shock. The same went for Nami and Zoro. Even Buggy was a bit confused by this turn of events. Not that I could blame him. Four people show up to save an old man, only for one of them to knock him out…

Yeah, I'd be a bit confused too.

"What the hell did you do that for!?" Nami yelled at Luffy, who only turned to her with a small smile.

"Because." was Luffy's simple reply. Too bad for him, that didn't change the angry expression on Nami's face.

"It's actually not a bad idea you know." Zoro said, as Nami turned a confused look his way. Seeing it, Zoro continued. "If the old man had kept trying to charge at Buggy like that, it only would have gotten him killed."

"That may be so, but I'm sure we could have knocked him out without bashing in his skull though." I said, as Nami rounded on Luffy once more, a finger pointed in my direction.

"Asuna is right, Luffy! We could have found a more humane way to deal with the situation!" she shouted at him, while Luffy kept giving her a wide eyed, _what did I do_ look on his face.

Placing a calming hand on Nami's shoulder, I waited for her to look at me before I spoke. "Look, Boodle's out of the fight now. We've been lucky so far, seeing as Buggy hasn't taken the chance to blast us away with that cannon of his while we've been goofing off the last few minutes. But we'd better get serious in the next few seconds, because it looks like he's about ready to loose his patience." I said, as I gestured up to where Buggy was still glaring at us, his eyes narrowing a bit every few seconds.

Seeing my point, Nami backed off of Luffy. Seeing as Nami was no longer yelling at him, Luffy turned and walked a bit closer to the pub Buggy was standing on. I thought that he was gonna use his rubber powers to get up there to Buggy, but I was proven wrong when he took a deep breath, muttering _here it goes_ before taking in all that air.

" _BIG NOOOOOOOOSE!_ " Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, in order to piss Buggy off. And boy did it have the desired affect.

"Did he have to say _that_ to him!" Nami freaked out, as Zoro rolled his eyes at Luffy's antics. I, on the other hand, had to stop myself from tapping my foot in impatience. I specifically came here to help Luffy get Buggy back for the old man, and to make him pay for destroying my bag with his ridiculously named cannon ball; hence me ready to kick ass instead of speak.

Then again, from the dark look on Buggy's face right now, I probably need to be careful of what I wish for.

"Damn flashy idiotic bastard. You'll pay for that." Buggy growled at him, before whirling around on his men. "Take aim and fire the damn _Buggy Ball_!" he ordered, as we then found a cannon right in our faces a few seconds later.

Nami wasted no time in running off to the side to avoid the blast, while Zoro began trying to convince Luffy to stop standing there like a knot on a log.

"Luffy, we've gotta move!" Zoro told him, while Luffy gave us a side ways smirk.

"I'll be fine. You and Asuna just get back with Nami and watch." Luffy told him, as I gave Luffy a wary look.

"I take it you're powers will allow you to deal with this?" I asked him, as I darted over to where my sister stood, keeping a close eye on the aim of that cannon. Instead of answering, Luffy turned all of his attention to the cannon being lit. Using that as his last chance to get out of the way, Zoro decided to trust Luffy and moved back as well.

Not a moment too soon either, for soon as Zoro reached the all clear, the cannon fired. Seeing it, Luffy sucked in another lung full of air.

" _GUM-GUM BALLOON!_ " Luffy shouted, as his belly quite literally _inflated_. Due to his rubber body, this made it a rather easy thing to make his stomach big enough to catch Buggy's specialized cannon ball and bounce it back at it's name sake.

Seeing his plan, Zoro and I pretty much simultaneously planted our faces into the palms of our hands. I'd seen just about as much as Luffy's tricks as Zoro has, and yet _this_ still needed some getting use to. As for my sister on the other hand, Luffy's devil fruit power was new and very frightening…

Or at least, that was my impression after hearing a high pitched gasp, and seeing her look of fear and shock when I glanced her way to see if she was alright.

And as for Buggy and his crew, their faces mirrored Alvida and her crew. For a fatal second anyway, as the shock from seeing their precious cannon call being deflected back at them froze them all in place long enough for it to destroy the rest of the pub.

As the dust and debris began to settle, Nami was able to snap out of her stupor. Her fear and shock being quickly replaced by anger as she whirled around on Luffy once more.

"What kind of fucking monster are you!?" she demanded, as I felt a bead of sweat roll down my temple.

Moving to place a comforting hand on Nami's head, I began smoothing my fingers through her orange locks in order to help her calm herself down. "Alright, I'll admit that I probably should have mentioned this to you sooner, but Luffy is a devil fruit user." I told her, as Nami turned her anger towards me.

"What! You knew about this, and didn't say anything!?" she snapped at me, while I raised my hand from her hair to hold up next to my other on in surrender.

"I fully planned to once we sat down somewhere to have that talk remember? Only it never happened because of all the shit that's been going on." I reminded her, as Nami calmed herself down a bit.

"Oh, alright, fine! But we are having a nice long discussion once this is all over." Nami warned me, as I gave her a half smile. Narrowing her eyes at it, she then turned back to Luffy, who wore that innocent expression from before when he got called out for knocking out Boodle.

"And _you_!" she began, as she placed her hands on her hips. "Is what Asuna's saying true?! Do you have devil fruit powers that let you do that inflation thing!?" Nami demanded of him, as Luffy gave her that big smile of his.

"Oh that? It was the _gum-gum balloon_." Luffy answered her, as Nami placed her hands on her hips. Clearly not satisfied with that answer.

"I'm sure she doesn't want to know what you call it Luffy, just how you were able to do it." I told him, as Luffy gave me an _oh_ expression.

"Exactly! Now what kind of freak are you anyway?" she asked him once more.

However, before Luffy had a chance to answer, rustling from rubble drew our attention back to the destroyed pub. When we looked over, we saw two of Buggy's crew floating about half a foot off the ground in front of their captain. Buggy's hands around each of their necks.

"I don't believe it. He used his own men as a shield." Nami muttered, her anger finally becoming directed away from our rag tag group of _sort of_ friends. Scoffing in agreement, I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, that's the actions of a coward alright." I muttered under my breath, as Buggy saw fit to drop his comrades, and recall his hands to the stump of his wrists. At this, Buggy and the four of us began staring each other down. This went on for a couple of minutes before our staring contest was interrupted by another of Buggy's crew getting up from the debris.

A man covered in a half white fur shirt, blue pants, and what looked like bear slippers. The strangest part about him was how he had his hair. Short, except for two pieces of hair that looked like it had been made to look like round ears. If I didn't know any better, then I'd say this was the _Beast Tamer Moji_ Boodle and Nami had been so scared of earlier.

My suspicions on this were proven true the moment he noticed Luffy. When he spotted the straw hat wearing kid, Moji began freaking out.

"AH! Not him again!" Moji cried, as he jumped up to his feet and moved to his captain's side. "Captain, we need to be careful with him! He's got devil fruit powers too! Powers that make him a rubber person, I've seen this myself!" he pleaded with him, gaining Buggy's attention with the word _devil fruit_.

"Devil fruit you say? That explains how he was able to send my Buggy Ball back at us." Buggy said, as he returned to glaring at us.

Hearing this, Nami gave Luffy a curious look. The complete opposite of earlier at my great relief.

" _Rubber_? Is that what your devil fruit does?" Nami asked him, as Luffy nodded his head yes. To further prove this, Luffy pinched each of his cheeks and pulled them out beyond normal. Effectively creeping my sister out in the process.

This is when another of Buggy's crew decided to wake up from the rubble of the pub. This time, it was a man holding up a unicycle in one hand, and holding up a really huge lion in the other.

" _Richie!?_ " Moji called in despair, as the man who had apparently used the lion as a shield dropped him to the ground.

"So how are you planning on responding to their insult, Captain?" the man on the unicycle asked, as Buggy glanced over his shoulder at him.

"Cabaji… I don't know quite yet. I've been too pissed off to have given it any thought." Buggy answered, as Moji began to get over the shock of finding his lion being used by this _Cabaji_ to avoid the worst of the blast.

"Damn you Cabaji! What the hell did you do my Richie?!" Moji demanded, as Cabaji gave the man an evil smirk.

"Oh, this cat?" Cabaji asked, as he roughly nudged the lion with his foot. "I used it to keep my clothes from becoming ruined." he said, as the nudge began to make the lion stir. However, the moment the lion named Richie woke up and spotted Cabaji…

Let's just say the mighty lion was reduced to not but a helpless kitten who hid behind one of the larger pieces of the debris. Seeing this, Moji began to get angry at his crew mate. Turning around, Moji spat a curse at him before charging forward. Dodging the punch Moji threw his way, Cabaji then kicked Moji in the gut hard enough to send him flying straight at Luffy. Seeing this himself, Moji gave us a worried look.

"Get out of my way!" Moji yelled at us, as Luffy gave him a smirk.

Seeing the potential disaster for what it was, I grabbed Nami by the arm and quickly dragged her over to stand with me on the other side of Zoro. Just in time too, seeing as Luffy took a ready stance.

"How about, out of _my_ way!" Luffy yelled back, as he waited until Moji was about to hit him, before kicking him into the wall just behind where Nami had been standing before I moved her and myself to a better spot. Leaving a good sized dent in the wall, Moji then slid down to the street, out cold.

Seeing that Moji was down and out, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and I all turned our attention back to Buggy and Cabaji. Now that Moji was no longer annoying him, Cabaji began giving us all a fiendishly delighted look. A look that screamed his excitement at ripping us all apart.

"Captain Buggy." Cabaji called his captain. Waiting until he had his attention, Cabaji continued. "Let me repay their disrespect?" he asked, as Buggy gave him a sadistic smile.

"Why not? Just make it a good show." Buggy said, granting him permission.

Letting his evil smirk widen, Cabaji mounted his unicycle and then launched himself over Buggy's head. The moment it landed, he began peddling towards us like hell was on his heels with a sword in his hand.

"I am acrobat Cabaji, Captain Buggy's chief of staff!" Cabaji formally introduced himself as he moved his sword into a position for him to strike. "For the insult to my captain, you must die!" He shouted, as he poised himself to strike Luffy dead on.

However, before his sword could so much as touch Luffy, Zoro was there blocking Cabaji's sword with one of his own.

"How about I clash swords with you instead?" Zoro asked him, as Cabaji's eyes lit up a bit as he noticed who was blocking his path.

"Ah… It's an honor, Roronoa Zoro. I'd gladly take this chance to slay you." Cabaji said, accepting the challenge Zoro had laid out for him, all the while he visibly took note of Zoro's wounded side.

Seeing this myself, I began to get a bit worried for Zoro. If Cabaji were to go poking at his wound, then it would reopen, and he would most definitely need stitches this time around. I was sure of that.

"Hey Zoro, you really need to get some rest. Maybe you should let either Asuna or me take care of him." Luffy suggested, as Zoro kept his focus centered on his opponent.

"No, everyone just stay back." Zoro told us, as Luffy backed off. Granting his first mate his request. However, I didn't get the chance to marvel at how quickly they acted as a crew with just two members, seeing as Cabaji saw this as the perfect opportunity to attack.

Pulling down his scarf, Cabaji began blowing fire right at Zoro's face. Much like you'd see at a circus or something. While the flames distracted Zoro, Cabaji took the chance to kick Zoro in his wounded side.

Seeing this, I began to worry as the sudden pain caused Zoro to fall to the ground…

….….

Next Chapter: Chapter 5 - Importance of the Straw Hat

….….

Yeah, yeah, I hate doing this to you guys, but here is a cliff hanger. I agree, they are despicable things, but I couldn't wait to churn out this chapter for every one. Especially seeing as it's been over a month since I last finished and uploaded something on here. So go, read, enjoy, review if you'd like. And as always, thanks for reading!

Bugg18.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Importance of the Straw Hat

Seeing the fresh blood spurt from Zoro's side, I couldn't help but wince at the pain I knew he was in right now. Nami couldn't really even watch this part, and Luffy wore a similar expression to mine. It was down right dirty, the way Cabaji went after Zoro's wound.

Spitting a curse under his breath, Zoro sat up to face Cabaji once more. Cabaji on the other hand, got ready to spring his next attack now that Zoro was down for the moment. Putting the tip of his sword to the ground, he directed his evil smirk sat Zoro.

" _ACROBAT TECHNIQUE: MURDER AT THE STEAM BATH._ " Cabaji said, as he then began to spin his sword around, creating a dust cloud to obscure him and his position. Eyeing the dust cloud warily, Zoro waited for Cabaji's next move. After a moment passed without anything happening, Zoro moved to get back on his feet, only to have to move his swords to block Cabaji about half way up. This sent Zoro rolling backwards as Cabaji took the chance to attack Zoro's side again.

"He did it again!?" Nami said, as she looked on with Luffy and I.

Ignoring the side line commentary, Cabaji simply looked down his nose at Zoro.

"What's this now?" Cabaji mockingly asked, as he placed the back of his blade against his shoulder as he addressed Zoro. "It's a disgraceful sight to see a grown man moaning in pain on the ground, don't you think? I guess you can see how foolish it was to make an enemy of our crew."

While Cabaji insulted Zoro, I couldn't help but feel my respect for Zoro's abilities begin to grow; all the while painful memories and images began to flash through my mind. I knew what it was like, to have to push on despite any sort of pain I was in at the time. I also knew that I only had an inkling as to what drove Zoro to the lengths he was going. To beat my father is one thing, what drove him to set such a goal for himself is another. What that was, was a question that's been burning at the back of my mind since I first heard him speak of his ambition. Either way, as long as Zoro kept that, Cabaji would never win…

"How in the hell is he able to stay in this fight? He's hurt so badly, yet he keeps going…" I heard Nami say, as she gave Luffy an aggravated look. "Why are you just standing here? Watching is only going to get him killed." Nami told him, as she turned to glance at me. "I'm sure you can agree with me on that, can't you Asuna?" she asked me, as I looked at her in return.

"Cabaji won't win this." I told her, as Nami gave me a confused look. Looking away from her, I turned my gaze to Zoro's crumbled form on the ground. "By underestimating Zoro, Cabaji's sealing his own defeat."

"You can't know that for sure, though." Nami argued, as she looked back at the fight as well.

Casting a small glance Luffy's way, I saw him regard his crew mate seriously. Not an ounce or worry for his friend flashed through his dark eyes as he watched Zoro get kicked around by Cabaji. Goofy as Luffy gets at times, he held an unshakable faith in Zoro's abilities. If anything, knowing this, made my prediction seem even more likely to come to pass.

"Roronoa Zoro…" I heard Cabaji say, as I turned my attention back to the fight. "You're finished!" he yelled, as he began peddling Zoro's way again.

Unfortunately for Cabaji, Zoro didn't intend to take his next attack lying down. Staggering to his feet, Zoro stood at the ready.

"You annoying little bastard." Zoro muttered, as he let his swords hang on either side of his body. "Are you having fun poking at my wound?… Go right ahead!" he shouted at Cabaji, as the self proclaimed acrobat's sword linked up the wound on Zoro's front, to the one further back on his side.

Seeing this, I couldn't stop the hiss of shock that passed my lips. Even Luffy muttered a sound in sympathy, while Nami cringed once again at the thought of the pain that had to have caused him. However, Zoro didn't make a sound as Cabaji's blade cut through his skin. He just stood there, as Cabaji passed him, and more of his blood fell to the ground. Soon as the wound was made, and Cabaji came to a standstill behind him, Zoro glanced over his shoulder, sweat running down his face.

"Is that enough of a handicap for you?" He asked Cabaji, who began to appear more pissed off than fiendishly delighted as he had before. Seeing this, Zoro turned the rest of the way around, as he lifted up one of his swords. "If it is, then how about I show you how much superior my skills are to yours." he said, as Cabaji became more wary of his opponent.

Apparently, he was beginning to see the mistake he had made upon initiating this fight with the ex-bounty hunter.

"You idiotic bastard… I won't be mocked." Cabaji warned Zoro, as he shifted his position. "The severe wounds you have at the moment should be a good enough excuse as to why you lost to me. Acrobat Cabaji of the Buggy Pirates." Cabaji said, as Zoro narrowed his eyes at him.

"My aim is to be the world's greatest. I can't submit to anyone who calls himself a swordsman. If I were to loose to you, with a _scratch_ like this, then I wouldn't have a very bright future ahead of me, would I?" Zoro shot back, as he drew his white sword and placed it in his mouth.

Hearing his crew mates words, Luffy began to cheer him on. Nami remained silent like I did. However, I did so only because I knew that Zoro was only half right with his last statement. The level of training and torment Zoro will have to go through to reach his goal won't be easy. Same as it is with Luffy's goal to become the next pirate king. Yes, it might have some bright moments, but they'll always be overshadowed…

Seeing Nami turn away from the scene Zoro and Cabaji were in, I felt myself come out of my thoughts as I turned a curious look my sister's way. Noticing me, Luffy turned his focus on Nami as well.

"I refuse to stay here and watch this any longer." she began, as she headed towards an alley way that sat next to where the three of us were watching Zoro's fight from. "You pirates can go around killing each other until the end of time for all I care. What I do care about, is this beautiful opportunity you two have created for me to go and rob Buggy blind and get the hell out of here." Nami said, as she threw up a hand in a short wave towards Luffy. "Who knows, maybe we can team up again if we ever get the chance. Good luck with the fight! See ya!"

With that, Nami gave me a nod in the direction she was heading. Seeing the silent invitation for what it was, I sighed heavily. I had kind of wanted to stay and watch Zoro kick Cabaji's ass. However, I also knew that Nami could also probably use some help in getting through whatever guards Buggy had guarding his treasure.

Reaching up to pull my sunglasses down, I let out a small curse as I was reminded that they had been blown to bits by one of Buggy's special cannon balls. Making a mental note to pick up some more when I had the chance, I turned to look Luffy's way.

"Well, as much as I want to see how this ends, I need to catch up with Nami before I loose her again. I'll see you guys around." I told Luffy, as headed towards the alley Nami went down.

"Thanks for all of your help Asuna! See ya!" Luffy called after me, as I gave him one last wave. With that, I took off down the alley to catch up with my sister. As I made my way, I couldn't help but feel a pang in my chest. A pang I knew that I needed to bury as soon as possible.

Luffy and Zoro were the closest thing I'd had to having friends in a very long time. All of the pirates I've hauled into the marines, and none of them had found their way around the walls I'd built up around my heart like they had.

Yet, our friendship can never be. It would only end with them being killed.

Burying this, I concentrated on where I was going. Just in time to find that Nami had stopped a ways up ahead to wait for me. She was leaning up against a wall, as I slowed down to a walk, watching my approach. Stopping a few feet from her, I waited for her to speak.

"You sure like to find trouble, don't you Asuna." Nami said, as she glanced from me to her feet. "Trouble that might be more than what even _you_ bargain for from time to time." she warned, as I folded my arms across my chest.

"You're probably right about that. Not that it really matters anymore though, does it." I said, as Nami turned a surprised gaze my way.

"Asuna…" She began, only to pause as I began making my way further down the alley way.

"Just leave it be Nami. Once we have Buggy's treasure, we're leaving them behind, right? Once we put them behind us, then it won't matter how I feel on the subject. And as far as handing them over to the marines, I've decided to let them go. They did help me after all." I told her, as I looked over my shoulder at my sister.

Sighing heavily, Nami then looked from me up to the blue sky.

"I'll admit, while I'm ready to cut my losses with them, I will give Luffy and Zoro this…" Nami said, as a small smile graced her lips. "They made you feel again. In a good way. If you can take the memory that you can feel like a normal human being again from being near them, then I can't see it as a bad thing."

Once again, the pang I had tried to leave behind me returned full force to my chest at Nami's words. She had hit the nail on the head with that. Letting my bangs cover my eyes, I fought all of the emotions back.

"And yet, to save their lives, we have to let them and the friendship they promise go." I muttered, as I faced forward once more.

Nami didn't respond to my statement, as she lowered her one head in silent agreement. She knew just as well as I did of what I spoke. I let her be for a moment or two, before I glanced at her over my shoulder once more. Giving her a hollow smile, I nodded my head in the direction of the destroyed pub.

"If we want to rob Buggy under his big red nose, then we'd better get going." I told her, as Nami's small smile returned to her lips.

"Yeah." she agreed, as she pushed away from the wall. Moving to stand next to me, she gestured the other alley ways connecting to the one we were currently one. "If we keep going straight for a few more houses, then take a right, then that should put us towards the back of the pub. It's where I went to steal the chart in the first place." Nami said, as I nodded my head once in understanding.

"Alright then, let's get that chart and the goods." I said, as I began following Nami in the direction she had indicated.

Just as Nami had said, a few more houses down and a right turn put us towards the back of the pub. There were still a few pirates laying about the wreckage, but all of the ones still concious kept their attention on their captain. Probably for fear of Buggy turning his wrath upon them or something. Not that it really mattered, so long as they weren't pay any attention to Nami and I.

Creeping over to a good sized piece of debris, Nami stood at one end, and pointed towards the other side of it. Silently asking me to give her a hand in moving it. Moving to help her out, we picked it up as quietly as we could and moved it over to the side. Once it was out of the way, it was rather easy to see the way down into the basement. Letting Nami head down first, I kept my eyes on the pirates lying about.

Once Nami was in a good ways, I followed her in while passing the passed out guard Buggy had stationed for his treasure. Judging by the blue bottle in his hand, it looked like he had drank himself under the table. Ignoring him for now, I followed Nami over to the door that sat beyond the useless guard.

Reaching below the hem of her skirt, Nami pulled out one of the sections of her staff. Placing it through the opening on top of the pad lock that held the door shut, she quickly jerked it to the side to make it snap open. Hearing the loud noise it made, both Nami and I paused long enough to make sure the drunkard was still out of it before removing what was left of the lock.

Speaking of a lot of noise, we apparently had just enough luck left that the door swung open on well oiled hinges. As for the room that lay beyond, it was pitch black. Seeing this, I grabbed a lantern with a decent amount of oil and a box of matches from the shelf I stood next to, and handed them to Nami.

Taking them with a small thanks, Nami went just inside the darkened room in order to light it. After all, we still had a guard to keep from waking up.

Once she had it lit, Nami took the lantern further into the room with her with me right behind her. we didn't have to go far though, before the light of the lantern began reflecting off the huge ass pile of gold and jewels Buggy had stashed away in here. From the size of it, it looks like Buggy had been using this town as his home base for a good while now.

"Wow! Look at all this stuff!" Nami exclaimed excitedly, as I felt myself flinch a bit at the volume she used. Hearing a groan from the other room, I quickly realized that I wasn't the only one who was opposed to it. Watching as Nami went towards the gold to run her hands through it, I moved into the shadows that still sat behind the open door.

Sure enough, soon as Nami goes to put the crown she spotted in the horde of treasure on top of her head, the drunk guy from came stumbling in towards her. Thanks to me hearing him wake up before he got here, I was able to avoid being seen. Keeping a close eye on the bastard, I watched as he slowly drew his sword, and placed it close to Nami's neck. Luckily for the bastard, I recognized his intent to scare my sister rather than kill her. Had it been the other way around, the treasure would have been a little more red than gold right now.

Feeling the cold steel against her neck, Nami froze. Seeing that the damn pirate had Nami's attention, he backed off just enough to let her turn around to face him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with our treasure?" he demanded, as the crown on Nami's head fell off with a clang. When she didn't answer, the pirate moved a little closer to her, raising his bottle of booze to take a drink. "By order of Captain Buggy, any one who touches the treasure will be-" the pirate paused, as he felt just how light his bottle was. Giving it a startled look, he put the lip of the bottle to his eye to peer inside.

Rolling my eyes at this, I spied an unopened bottle of sake sitting on top of a barrel next to me. Moving out of the shadows, I made sure Nami saw me picking it up. Catching on to what I wanted to do, Nami went full on into actress mode. Clenching her shirt just over her chest, she faked falling to her knees, and began making whimpering sounds as if she were in pain.

Seeing this, the pirate quickly forgot his main job in his drunken state, as he began to show concern for my sister's supposes condition.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he slurred, as Nami curled into her self a bit more.

"It's my chest…" she gasped out. "It's hurting really bad." Nami complained, as she moved her hands down just enough to show some of her cleavage. This action of course moved the pirates gaze from her face to her breasts. Not a second later, the bastard gets a goof look on his face as he began turning redder.

Feeling a bit ticked off that a drunken bastard was looking at my little sister in such a way, I gave no mercy when I smashed the bottle of sake I had into the back of his skull. I couldn't help but have a bit of a sadistic smirk of my own when the guy dropped like a sack of bricks. Served him right for being a pervert, and causing me to have to waste what smelled like good sake on top of that.

Letting out a heavy sigh in relief, Nami turned back towards the treasure.

"That was a close one." Nami said, as she then turned a glare in my direction. "Speaking of which, Asuna; why didn't you warn me that he had woken up?" she asked as I gave the pirate at our feet a good kick.

"Element of surprise." I simply answered, as I moved back towards the barrel I had gotten the sake from. Popping it open, I saw a few more bottles of the same kind of sake I had used. Picking one up, I popped off the cork and took a small sip. Feeling a good burn caress my throat, I knew that I was right in my assumption that this was indeed the good stuff. Grabbing an empty sack that sat next to the barrel, I put what looked to be the last four bottles of sake in it before tying it closed.

Now that the barrel was empty, I then reached for one of the two larger sacks that sat on the other side of the barrel that was currently sitting next to this one. The first one I picked up had potatoes in it before I dumped them all in the now empty barrel. Reaching for the other, I found that it had apples. Pouring those on top of the potatoes, I then closed the barrel before taking the now two empty sacks over to where Nami was fiddling with the treasure.

Upon reaching her side, I saw that she had found the key to a small purple chest, and was in the process of opening the pad lock. Once she had it off, she flipped the lid open. Seeing what was inside, she gave a soft cry of triumph as she grabbed the worn, rolled up parchment inside. Watching as she unrolled it, I quickly realized that it was the chart we had come looking for besides the gold.

"Yes! This is it! The chart of the Grand Line." she said, as a bright smile crossed her face. Seeing it, I couldn't help but smile secretly to myself. Having a chart in her hand was the only way that I've seen Nami truly smile over the last eight years. I've never told her that though, because I knew she'd deny it the moment I did.

Giving her a moment to bask in her accomplishment, I then cleared my throat to get her attention. Lowering the chart, Nami finally turned to acknowledge me.

"Now that we've found it, we'd better pack up the gold and get the hell out of here. If Buggy or his men realize we're down here, all they'll have to do is seal up the opening into the basement. Then there won't be adding this to our savings back home, or going to the Grand Line." I reminded her, as Nami gave me a sheepish smile.

"I suppose your right." she agreed, as she rolled the map. Tucking it into her shirt, she then took one of the bags from me and began filling it. Doing the same, Nami and I managed to have everything we were taking packed away. Hefting my half of the burden up on my shoulder, I then grabbed the small bag of sake for later. Noticing it, Nami gave me a confused look.

"What's in the smaller bag?" she asked, as she hefted her own bag over her shoulder.

"Oh this?" I said, as I held it up a little higher. "It's sake. I was planning on using it to disinfect Zoro's wound when I get the chance to retreat it." I answered her, as Nami gave me a pointed look.

"If he survives, you mean." she said, as I shrugged my shoulder.

"I'm sure he will. But if he does kick the bucket, I'm sure one of us will need it by the time we leave this place." I said, as Nami and I began making our way for the exit.

"Maybe, but I'm hoping not. Now that we have what we need, we need to get the hell of this island." Nami said, as I paused at the steps leading back up into the light of day. Sensing this, Nami turned back to look at me.

"What about Luffy and Zoro? I have faith that they'll beat Buggy, but what about Boodle's neighbors. Once they realize that he hasn't gone back after his visit with Chouchou, I'm sure they'll come looking for him. And when they do, Luffy's not going to deny being a pirate." I asked, as Nami's expression became somber.

"No doubt that they'll blame him for all the damage done to the town too. Him and Zoro." Nami said, as she turned a thoughtful look at the bag she carried, and the one I carried. "And come to think of it, because they're distracting Buggy, we're walking away with what I estimate to be ten million berries. So I guess you're right to be hesitant. Helping them get off the island ASAP if needed is the least we could do."

"And from what I've noticed, Luffy and Zoro are heading in the same direction we need to be heading in anyway. The question is, do you want to stay on as partners with them for now?" I asked her, as Nami thought it over.

"Let's get through our fight with Buggy first. If Zoro and Luffy can really defeat him and his crew, then there won't be anyone breathing down our necks to get it back like usual. If yes, then I would agree to it. Who knows, maybe well get another haul like this." she answered, as I gave her a small smile.

"Then let's go see how the fights going, shall we?" I said, as Nami nodded her head once. With that, we made our way out of the basement. Moving as quietly and as quickly as possible, Nami and I made our way back to the allies we had used to get to the pub from the street. When we were about half way back to where we had left Luffy, Nami and I went towards the mouth of the alley. Setting my half of the treasure down, I peered to see what was going on.

Doing the same, Nami and I soon discovered that Cabaji and Zoro were still fighting. Though by what I could see of the expression on Zoro's face from where he sat on the ground, I'd say he was about to end it. Although, Luffy was standing in a different spot than where we left him. Between Zoro's back, and Buggy who was missing a hand. A hand Luffy was currently stepping on.

 _Oh, I get it now. Buggy must have tried to catch one of Zoro's feet in order to slow him down. And Luffy stopped him by pinning his hand to the ground. Way to keep his back Luffy!_ I thought, as my attention went back to Zoro and Cabaji.

Taking a good look at Zoro's side as he staggered back to his feet, I could see that his bandages were thoroughly soaked through now.

"Enough of this bullshit. I'm tired of it." Zoro said, as Cabaji balked at Zoro's statement.

"So you've finally decided to give up, haven't you?" Cabaji chuckled, as he raised his sword once more. "It's impressive that you've lasted this long with your wounds, but your road ends here."

"I think you misunderstood me. I'm _tired_ of this boring little side show you've got going on." Zoro clarified, as several veins became visible on Cabaji's forehead. The self proclaimed acrobat was becoming quite pissed off with Zoro's indifference.

" _So_ sorry to have disappointed you. How about I use my _real_ swordsman skills!" Cabaji said, as he began peddling furiously towards Zoro once again. "Die!" Cabaji shouted at him, as Zoro stood at the ready.

The moment he did though, I felt a powerful aura start to emit from Zoro and his white sword. It felt dark, and immensely powerful. Much like the aura you would believe a demon to have. Once Cabaji was within striking range, Zoro slashed him, as Cabaji's blood painted the streets a darker red. A single glance at the wound, and I could tell that Zoro had cut him deep enough to leave a decent sized scar on Cabaji's side.

And speaking of the pirate acrobat, Cabaji didn't make it more than a couple of feet past Zoro before he froze in pain.

"I was bested... By petty thieves?" Cabaji gasped out, as he fell off his unicycle and abruptly passed out from the pain he was now in.

"We aren't _petty thieves_. We're _pirates_." Zoro corrected, as he crumbled to the ground himself. Not that I was too surprised, Zoro was wounded when the fight began, and Cabaji had only made it worse for him.

"Luffy…" Zoro called, as Luffy glanced at him over his shoulder. "I'm going to sleep." Zoro announced as he closed his eyes to do just that.

"Sounds good to me." Luffy told him, as he turned to face Buggy again. And let me tell you, if Buggy was pissed off before, then it was nothing compared to how he's feeling now. "I've been looking forward to this since we got here." Luffy bragged, as he held up a fist.

"No way. Zoro managed to beat that guy." Nami said in shock, as she glanced my way. "It's just like you predicted."

"Maybe so, but Zoro's wound was not only reopened, but made wider when he let Cabaji nick him earlier in the fight. But now that that's over a done with, all that's left is Luffy's big fight with Buggy the Clown." I said, as Nami and I turned our attention to the next two opponents about to square off.

Ignoring Luffy's boasts, Buggy's mind held on to what Zoro had mentioned to Cabaji before passing out.

"So. You two are pirates?" Buggy asked, as Luffy nodded his head.

"Yeah. We're searching for the Grand Line." he answered, as Buggy scoffed at him.

" _The Grand Line_? That's a difficult voyage two half wits like you wouldn't be able to make." Buggy said, as a mocking tone entered his voice. "And if by some miracle you make it to those waters, just what in the hell are you planning to do? Go on a sight seeing tour?" Buggy asked, as he broke out into laughter.

"Be king of the pirates." Luffy answered simply, as if Buggy should already know this.

The moment that left Luffy's mouth though, Buggy all but broke his neck in shock.

"You can't be serious, you fucking idiot!" Buggy raged at him. "If you were to become king of the pirates, then I'd become the _God of Pirates_! Besides, there's no way I'd let a scrawny runt like you beat me to obtaining all the treasure this world has to offer!"

"You're annoying." Luffy straight up told him, as Buggy all but choked on Luffy's interruption. "How about we go ahead an settle this?" Luffy suggested, as Buggy drew his knives.

"Why not?" Buggy agreed, as he narrowed his eyes in Luffy's direction. "Seeing that straw hat really pisses me off. You and that hat reminds me too much of that cheeky red headed pirate bastard."

Upon hearing the words, _red headed_ , Luffy's eyes became wide in surprise.

" _Red headed_? Wait, are you saying you know my old friend Shanks?" Luffy asked, as I felt my jaw drop.

"Wait a damn minute! Luffy knows _Red-Haired Shanks_!?" I exclaimed in a harsh whisper, as Nami turned a confused expression my way.

"Red-Haired Shanks. As in the Four Emperors?" she asked, as I nodded my head yes.

"Yeah… Many years ago, back before Arlong, there was a rumor that the Red Haired Pirates based themselves on an island somewhere in the East Blue for a while. That must have been when Luffy met him." I explained to her, as Nami turned surprised eyes Luffy's way.

"Can you tell me where he is now!?" Luffy shouted, as I snapped my gaze to him and Buggy once more.

"Oh I don't know?" Buggy mocked, sneering at Luffy as he took the opportunity to try and make Luffy squirm. "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't."

Giving Buggy a droll stare, Luffy began scratching his head beneath his hat.

"What? Don't tell me for already forgot!" Luffy said, as Buggy's teasing went right above his head. Oh, I'd say about a thousand miles high…

" _NO I DIDN'T FORGET, YOU MORON!_ " Buggy snapped at him, as he calmed himself down a moment later. "But I'm not just going to come out a tell you. You want to find out, you'll have to work for that kind of information." he challenged, as he went back to a language I knew Luffy would be able to understand.

"That's fine." Luffy smirked. "I'll just make you tell me."

Chuckling, Buggy kicked the heel of his shoe to the ground to make a hidden blade pop out of the toe.

"Well just see about that won't we?" Buggy said, as he held his foot up. "Although I doubt you'll like your chances. Rubber won't bounce back from a blade. Am I right?"

"You're right." Luffy fully admitted, while Nami slapped her palm to her head.

"Damn. You weren't joking when you said he couldn't lie to save his life." Nami said, as I gave her a side ways glance.

"Don't worry Sis, I'll play nice this time and I won't tell you _I told you so_." I reassured her.

"Yeah, you do that." Nami remarked as we turned our attention back to the rising tensions. Just in time too, for Buggy wasted not another second before he detached his lower half, and sent it into a spin.

" _CHOP-CHOP RICE CRACKER!_ " Buggy shouted, as his spinning mass of steel flew towards Luffy. Jumping upwards, Luffy was able to dodge it. However, it soon became clear that it was just a ploy to get Luffy to go mid air when Buggy sent his hands flying at Luffy. Unfortunately for Buggy, being mid air didn't make stretching his arm out to pull himself away any difficult.

Calling his lower half and his hands back to him, Buggy gave Luffy an appraising eye.

"Oh-ho. An interesting manure." Buggy stated, as Luffy returned the sentiment.

"You're not so bad either." Luffy said, as he got ready to launch his next attack. "But here goes: _GUM-GUM PISTOL_!" He called, as he launched his fist towards Buggy's head. Watching it head towards him, Buggy dodged to the side as it sailed right past his face.

Giving Luffy's arm a passing glance, Buggy then looked at one of his daggers.

"Their nice abilities, but they also tend to leave you wide open." he commented, as he raised his daggers to slice through Luffy's extended arm. Seeing this, Luffy latched his stretched out hand onto something. Once he had a hold of something sturdy, Luffy simply let his rubbery abilities kick in and pull him towards Buggy.

" _GUM-GUM SICKLE!_ " Luffy shouted, as he held out an arm to try and take Buggy out at the neck.

This only gave Buggy either enough time to cut Luffy, or try and dodge the new attack heading towards him. In the end, survival instinct won out as Buggy detached his head in order to get out of Luffy's way. Having missed his mark, Luffy went sailing past Buggy to crash land in what was left of a ruins house. Reattaching his head to his body, Buggy then looked back at the wreckage Luffy had fallen into.

"Not good enough, is it Gum-Gum." he teased, as Luffy busted out of the debris of the house, hat in hand. Placing it back on his head, Luffy gave Buggy an aggravated look.

"Damn, you keep breaking up into pieces." Luffy complained, as Buggy snorted at his expense. Instead of responding to Luffy's statement though, Buggy held out his fist full of daggers.

" _CHOP-CHOP CANNON!_ " he shouted, as his hand flew off his arm. The daggers aimed for Luffy's chest as they flew. They ended up missing their mark though, seeing as Luffy caught Buggy's hand. Unfortunately for Luffy this time, that wasn't all Buggy was planning to do.

"Separate." Buggy commanded, as his hand split down the middle. This time, Luffy was only able to doge half of Buggy's fingers. The ones he did flew harmlessly by him, but the ones he couldn't avoid managed to slice into his face. The force of the blow knocked him back into the wreckage once more as Buggy let out an evil laugh.

As his hand melded back together and landed on Buggy's hand, Buggy let out an evil laugh to match.

"So, you want to give up yet ya little runt?" Buggy taunted him, as I felt a chill go down my spine. Glancing back at Luffy, I saw him gazing down at his hat, at a tear that sat around the edge. Seeing it, I knew that Buggy had better start digging. By the time Luffy got done with him, he'd need the hole for his grave. After about a moment or two of looking at his hat, Luffy threw a murderous glare at Buggy.

"You bastard!" Luffy growled at Buggy, who simply waved his anger aside.

"What? Was I not supposed to scratch your face or something?" Buggy asked, as Luffy turned his glare back at his hat.

"Bastard… No one damages my hat and walks away alive." Luffy growled, as he got back on his feet, his hand clutched in his right hand. "Anyone who so much as lays a single finger on my treasured straw hat is gonna pay!" He spat at Buggy, who gave Luffy's hat a thoughtful look.

"In this entire day that I've known Luffy, I didn't think there was anything that could phase him, but look at him now. He's getting so upset about a hat." Nami said, as I glanced back at her again.

"A breeze took it off Luffy's head on the way to this island. Luffy all but jumped right into the sea to try and get it back. Would have done it too had Zoro not caught it for him." I said, as I thought of something. "Now that you mention it, Luffy told us afterwards that he got it from someone important to him. With how he reacted to Buggy mentioning Red Haired Shanks, I wouldn't be surprised if that's who gave it to him."

"Wow. Then it really must be important to him then." Nami commented, as I nodded my head once in agreement.

"That hat must really have some history behind it then." Buggy said, drawing our attention back to the fight. "If its so important, then maybe you should protect it." he said, as he had the hand he shot at Luff fling one of it's knives at him.

Sensing the danger, Luffy dodged out of the way, leaving a pretty good sized opening to his hat. By the time I realized the trap for what it was, Buggy had already used his powers to send his hand and the remaining daggers through Luffy's hat. Tearing it up even worse than before.

Watching as the hat was torn form his grasp, Luffy could only look on in horror. Luffy was in so much shock, that he couldn't even move to keep from falling flat on his face.

As Luffy fell, Buggy recalled his hand to the stump of his arm. Once it arrived and reattached to him, he gave the hat a scathing look as he examined it.

"How can this old tattered hat be a _treasure_?" Buggy asked no one in particular as he glanced back at Luffy. " _Treasure_ refers to gold and sparkling jewels. Things of great value which reflect their owners wealth. If you think this filthy old thing is a treasure, then you really need to grow up boy." he chuckled, as Luffy sat up once more.

"Shut the hell up! When Shanks gave me that, I made a promise!" Luffy shouted again, as that name gave Buggy pause.

 _I suspected as much. That hat really did belong to Red Haired Shanks._ I thought as I continued to watch the exchange.

Looking back at Luffy's straw hat, Buggy began to give it a disgusted look.

"So this use to be Shanks'." Buggy echoed, as he threw the hat to the ground. "No wonder the damn thing looked so familiar. I'd never seen Shanks without it back when I knew him."

At this, Luffy gave Buggy a wide eyed look.

"So you and Shanks were members of the same pirate crew way back when." Luffy said, as Buggy looked back up at Luffy, a far away look on in his eyes.

"Yes. Back when we started out in the life of piracy, that damn detestable red haired bastard and I were comrades." Buggy answered, as he slammed his heel down on the straw hat. This action was enough to make Luffy charge at Buggy.

" _SHANKS WAS A BETTER MAN THAN YOU'LL EVER BE! DON'T YOU DARE TALK BAD ABOUT HIM!_ " Luffy roared at Buggy, as he threw his fist back once more. Seeing it, Buggy tried to use his escape move again.

This time, it was Luffy who feinted a move, as he delivered a powerful kick to Buggy's gut rather than punching him in the face. This sent the rest of Buggy's body to the ground, as his head began floating back to its original place as Buggy coughed from the wind being knocked out of him.

"I can say whatever the hell I want about him." Buggy wheezed at Luffy, who reached down to pinch Buggy's cheeks. Pulling on them, Luffy got close and personal with Buggy's annoying face.

"Tell me! What happened between you two, and where in the hell can I find Shanks now!?" Luffy demanded. However, seeing as Luffy had his face, Buggy wasn't able to answer. Becoming aggravated with Buggy's silence, Luffy tossed Buggy away from him, as he turned to look at his hat.

"Damn it… You just had to tear my hat all to hell didn't you?" Luffy asked rhetorically.

Sitting up from Luffy's rough treatment, Buggy coughed a few more times before he could get his voice back.

"Do you really want to know?" Buggy asked, as Luffy turned back towards him. "Shanks is the one man I absolutely hate with a passion. I'll curse his name until the very day I die. I'll never forgive him for what he did to me!" Buggy stated, as he glared at a spot on the ground that sat between him and Luffy.

"In all my life, I've never been as pissed off at anyone as much as I am with him. It's because of him that countless treasures I once planned on searching out, are beyond my reach…" Buggy began, as he then went into some sob story about how he faked eating a devil fruit his former crew had pilfered from one of the ships they raided long ago; and went about preparing to jump ship. The plan for that devil fruit was to sell it on the black market and use the money to buy his own ship.

A plan that backfired when Red-Haired Shanks snuck up on Buggy while he was trying to sneak away, causing Buggy to put the damn devil fruit in his mouth to hide it. After trying to get Buggy to go to a celebration they were having on the ship, he went to leave. Thinking he was safe, Buggy went to take the devil fruit out of his mouth. Only to end up swallowing it whole when Shanks rounded back to tell him something else.

As Buggy swallowed it, he lost the treasure map over board. A treasure map he dove in after. Having forgotten that devil fruits and water don't mix, Buggy got into trouble. Trouble Shanks saved him from by pulling him out of the water.

At least, that's the gist I got from it. Rolling my eyes, I couldn't help but give Nami a side ways glance.

"Sure sounds like he was a punk nosed kid huh?" I asked her, as Nami turned a very frightened look my way. Upon seeing it, I realized what I had said. Not even sparing a glance in Buggy's direction, I dove for Nami's side of the alley. Shrinking back into the alley way herself, Nami and I held our breath as we waited for Buggy to come after us.

"So, are you telling me that Shanks saved your life?" Luffy asked, drawing Buggy's attention back to him with a vengance. While Buggy cursed out Luffy for interrupting his story, Nami and I let out the breath we were holding.

"That was too close. What in the hell possessed you to say something like that, Asuna!?" Nami fussed in a harsh whisper.

"I was only making an observation, that's all." I answered, rolling my eyes. "If he's got a problem with other people's opinions, then he need to use the next chestful of treasure he obtains to buy himself an island or something." I said, as I moved away from the wall I had leaned up against to stay out of sight, and peered around Nami and the corner hiding us.

Buggy was still ranting and raving at Luffy about how his own idiotic actions got him cursed. Pulling back from sight once more, I glanced back at Nami.

"Alright, since Luffy has him distracted, I think it's best if we pick up and leave now." I said, as Nami nodded her head once.

"Yeah, your right." she said, as she hoisted one of the two bags of treasure we had onto her back. Doing the same with the other, Nami and I cautiously tip toed out of the alley while Buggy was still looking at Luffy. As we moved, I tried to keep tabs on how the fight was going. That way, if Buggy noticed us, I'd know to make sure Nami and I wouldn't be caught off guard.

" _THAT'S NOT THE POINT!_ " Buggy shouted. "Because of what he did, I can no longer swim. And if I can't swim, then there is no way for me to reach any treasures that are sunken to the bottom of the ocean. Then I had a revelation… If I can't reach the treasures of the sea, then I'd just obtain all the treasure to behold on dry land using my Chop-Chop powers…" Buggy said, as his upper half floated up from the rest of his body. Seeing this, I felt another chill run down my spine.

"And now, I won't suffer anyone who touches my hard earned treasures to live." Buggy said, as he spread his arms outward, the knives he was still holding in his hands gleaming in the day light. " _DEATH TO ALL WHO TRY TO PILFER MY HARD EARNED GOLD!_ " Buggy declared, as his floating torso turned to face my sister and I. Seeing it, I turned wide eyes back at Nami who was in the lead.

"Start running!" I told her, as Nami glanced back at me to ask why. Only to end up taking off with me upon seeing Buggy soaring straight for us through the air. Following after her, I held on to the bag of gold I was carrying.

" _GET BACK HERE YOU THIEVES!_ " Buggy shouted at us, as Nami and I moved our legs faster.

"Damn it! He spotted us!" Nami shrieked, as she threw a glare in my direction. "You just had to say something to piss him off!"

"Just shut up and run! He sure as hell wont be nice if he catches us and my daggers won't work on him!" I shouted back at her as Buggy began gaining ground on us.

"Neither of you stand a chance against me! I'm going to flashily chop you both up!" Buggy yelled, as he came ever closer to us. Taking the load of treasure off of my back, I ignored Nami's protest as I chucked it as far as I could in the direction we were running towards. Now that my hands were free, I reached to pull my own set of daggers from my boots. Once they were in my hands, I spun to a stop behind my sister as she kept running.

"Blades won't work on me, remember? How about I give you a wound like Zoro's!?" Buggy mocked, as I braced myself for his attack.

Just as his daggers were about to make contact with me, Buggy's upper half froze midair with a look of pain etched into his face. The sudden stop and expression were enough to startle me, as a squeak left my lips. Hearing it, Nami chanced stopping to see if I was alright. Seeing Buggy's face and his daggers so close to me, Nami's face drained of color.

Then, before I could so much as blink, Buggy's upper half falls to the ground as huge tears began freely flowing from his eyes.

" _Owwww! Damn it, my balls… My balls…_ " Buggy wheezed out, as I glanced from him to his lower half, then to the foot Luffy had applied none too gently to Buggy's crotch. I swear, I could even hear them crunching and shattering from where I stood.

"Don't run off yet." Luffy said, as he turned his monkey grin in the direction of Buggy's face. "We're not done with our fight just yet." When Buggy didn't answer right away, Luffy then took the time to glace up and Nami and me.

"Hey, you might want to drop that bag like Asuna did, and get out of here before he wakes up." Luffy suggested, as Nami began to look like she was ready to bite his head off.

"No way!" Nami snapped. "I'll be having words with you later Asuna, but as for you Luffy! There's no way that I'm just going to drop the bag and go! I'm not leaving this stupid island without my treasure!" Nami shouted, as Buggy's fallen form began to move again. Holding my daggers at the ready, I watched to see what Buggy the Clown was going to do next.

" _Your_ treasure?" Buggy echoed, as he turned his murderous glare my way, then settled it upon Nami.

"Yeah, that's right!" Nami snapped at Buggy this time, her fear of him temporarily dissipated seeing as he wasn't trying to kill her right this moment. "I'm a thief who steals from pirates, and I just stole this horde from a really annoying one! So this makes it _my_ treasure now! Got that!" Nami declared as I felt the urge to shake my head.

"Nami, I don't think it works like that until you get away with it." I muttered her way, only for my words to be lost on the wind. Rolling my eyes at the way my sister just ignored me, I turned my attention back to watching for Buggy's next move.

"That's utter bullshit! Just because you stole it from me, doesn't make it yours! You dirty, sneaking thief bitch!" Buggy shouted at her, as I felt my eyes narrow dangerously.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. Then, while Buggy kept hatefully glaring at Nami, I planted my foot on the back of Buggy's head and began digging it painfully into the ground.

"Hey! What the hell!?" Buggy shrieked, as he turned his glare my way. Meeting it my own, I twisted my foot in tune with my next words.

"That's my sister you're talking about, you dumb ass, egotistical clown." I warned him. "Besides, you stole that treasure from somewhere else before you brought it here anyway, I'm sure."

"Why you!" Buggy shouted, not really having anything to come back with at my statement. After a moment, he could only growl at us. "Honestly! What in the hell did your parents teach you two!" Buggy said, as Nami looked down her nose at him.

"Oh, that's hilarious. A criminal trying to lecture another criminal." Nami mocked. "Please… The day I decide to take a lesson in morality, is the day I'll stop being a pirate thief."

Not really having anything to say to that either, Buggy pretty much returned to growling until he could find his voice again.

"I hope the two of you are ready for the consequences…" Buggy said, as I dug my foot into him once more.

"Oh really, and what's that going to be?" I asked him, as Buggy turned a smile my way that I didn't like.

"Here comes… _CHOP-CHOP!_ " Buggy began, as he used his powers to yank his head from under my foot, sending me sprawling to the ground. " _FESTIVAL!_ " Buggy shouted, as the rest of his body parts split into even smaller ones, and flew full speed towards Nami. Before I could find my footing again, Nami was forced to take off with the bag of treasure she still held, with Buggy after her once again.

"Nami! Give me back my treasure!" Buggy demanded, as Nami tried to run faster.

Muttering a curse, I surged to my feet and took off after them as fast as I could. When I made it about half way to them, Buggy suddenly began to laugh hysterically. A moment later, the laughing stopped and a grimace crossed Buggy's face. A moment after that, Buggy then began screaming in pain. At this, Buggy stopped chasing Nami long enough to look back at Luffy. Glancing back to do the same, I saw that Luffy was manipulating one of Buggy's bare feet.

Ignoring how disgusted that made me feel, I concentrated on closing the distance between me and Nami.

"Damn it! Would you knock it the hell off!" Buggy snapped at him, as Nami decided to try and make a move of her own. With Buggy being stationary in the air, she swung the bag of treasure at him in the hopes of knocking him away from her.

What she didn't account for, was the fact that Buggy was still able to catch the bag mid air. Realizing what she had inadvertent done, Nami broke out into a cold sweat, as Buggy beamed a sinister smile her way.

"Thanks for giving me my treasure back, Nami." Buggy said, as he took his turn to look down his big red nose at her.

Not wanting to give up so easily, Nami began shaking the hell out of the bag, trying her best to dislodge Buggy's hands on it. Then she and Buggy began a shouting match of _'let go'_ and _'no, you let go'_. A match that was about to end in blood as Buggy dropped one of his hands from the bag, and let the knife raise up as it pointed towards Nami.

Seeing this, Luffy began running our way as well. If I had to take a guess, then I'd say that Luffy was about to kick Buggy right out of the air above Nami. If that was the case, then I needed to get there to get Nami out of danger before Luffy could get there. Dropping my daggers and making a mental note to pick them up later, I pushed myself to run faster.

I managed to get to Nami only a few seconds before Luffy, and wasted no time in using my leg to kick Nami's feet out from under her as gently as I could before throwing myself to the ground as well. Just in time too, for Luffy to kick the bag of treasure right into Buggy's face and his other parts. As Buggy was sent flying, even the bag of gold took damage as the precious treasures were sent flying in all directions.

As the dust cleared, Buggy's parts began falling to the ground as he fell unconscious for the moment.

Seeing this, Luffy gave Buggy's direction a triumphant grin.

"Consider that hit a little gift from the old mayor guy." Luffy told him, as Nami and I sat up.

"Nami, you alright?" I asked her, as she nodded her head once, then turned her startled look in Luffy's direction.

"Thanks a lot…" Nami said, as I got to my feet, and offered her my hand. "I owe you one." she finished, as she grabbed my hand, and I helped her up.

"Hey, it's no problem." Luffy said, as I gave him a smile of thanks of my own. As Luffy nodded his head back, I then turned and walked off in the direction my daggers had landed when they had fallen. Thankfully, they were rather easy to find among the wreckage of the pub. They needed a coat of polish, but otherwise, they remained undamaged.

Putting them back where they belonged in my boots, I then turned to head back to Luffy and Nami. Only to pause when I spotted Buggy floating once more in a cloud of rage. Well, his head, hat, and captain's coat of course. Spying some rope among the wreckage off to the side, I began to get an idea.

Jogging over, I grabbed the rope, and began to make my way to the parts of Buggy that were the closest to me. As I worked, I could hear Buggy raising all sorts of hell over his defeat.

" _HOW DARE YOU FLASHILY DO THIS TO ME!_ " Buggy raged, as I finished tying off the rope. " _ASSEMBLE! CHOP-CHOP PARTS!"_ Buggy shouted, as his hands, ankles, and feet slapped themselves to gather.

As for Buggy's legs, crotch, torso, and arms… Well, that's all the parts I managed to get before Buggy tried to reassemble himself. When Buggy finally realized that he was not as tall as he should have been, he froze with a rather funny look filled with embarrassment and horror on his face.

"Looking for these, you punk nosed brat!?" I called in his direction, just to piss him off.

I could practically count the tic marks that appeared on Buggy's face as he turned my way. However, whatever retort or insult he had lined up vanished as he realized what I had my foot currently planted on.

"My part!" he shouted, as Luffy began laughing hysterically. Flinging his arms back, I watched as Luffy got ready to pull of a familiar move. The one that got rid of Alvida if I remember correctly.

"Nice one Asuna!" Luffy shouted, as he focused on Buggy. Buggy on the other hand, began to turn pale as he got an inkling of what Luffy was probably about to do to him. " _GUM-GUM BAZOOKA!_ " Luffy cried, as his rubber powers kicked in, and his arms returned to launch Buggy high into the air. All Buggy could do at this point, was scream as he sailed through the air.

Once Buggy was not but a star in the sky, Luffy's arm went back to their normal shape. Soon as they did, Luffy threw his arms up in the air with a shout of _I win_. Letting a small smile go Luffy's way, I then turned to dig through the remains of the buildings and pubs to find a new bag for Nami's half of the treasure to go in. Thankfully, I was able to find a new one in no time.

As Nami and I finished picking up the treasure, Luffy wandered over to where his torn up hat lie. Pausing in what I was doing, I watched as Luffy cast a sad look at it. Seeing this as well, Nami sent Luffy and apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about your hat. I know it's important to you." Nami said, as Luffy tried to brush it off with a laugh. Too bad that it sounded a bit too hollow.

"Don't worry. I'm still able to put it on, and I kicked Buggy's ass to the next island, so I'm satisfied for now." he said, as Luffy put the torn up hat back where it belonged upon his head.

Giving the damage a look, I felt that I could remedy that.

"When we leave the island, I'll fix it for you." I said, as Luffy turned a bewildered look my way.

"What? You'd really do that for me Asuna?" Luffy asked, as I gave him a droll stare.

"I'm a blacksmith. Although straw hats might be something more in the department of a tailor, needles and thread are needed in both trades." I said, as I gave him a small smile. "Besides, you did save my sister's life just now." I told him, as the hint of sadness lifted from Luffy's eyes.

"Wow! Thanks Asuna!" He beamed, as Nami and I both grabbed a bag, and made our way closer to Luffy.

Sitting her bag down, Nami then pulled out the chart of the Grand Line, and held it out to Luffy.

"Here… This is the chart to the Grand Line. I know that, that's where you want to go." Nami said, as Luffy gave her the same look he had given me just moments ago when I offered to fix his hat for him.

"You're really giving this to me!?" Luffy asked, as Nami gave him an annoyed look.

"Yes, because you saved my life." she answered, as Luffy took it from her, and held it close to his nose. Almost like he could smell the adventure the map promised to give.

"Wow! Now I can finally go to the Grand Line!" Luffy cheered, only to pause a moment later as he rounded back on Nami and me. "Oh! Does this mean you and Asuna will be joining my prate crew?" he asked, as Nami put her hands on her hips.

"I already told you that I'm never joining a pirate crew! And Asuna won't join unless I will so give a rest already." Nami said, as she crossed her arms, and gave Luffy a gentler smirk. "However, I see no reason why we have to break our partnership just yet. Being around you guys isn't as bad as I thought it would be, and it turns out to be pretty profitable. So Asuna and I will be sticking around for just a little bit longer. Just don't forget that we're joining for our _own_ interests."

"So long as you guys sail with us, I'm good with that!" Luffy said, as his triumphant smile grew even bigger if that was at all possible. Looking away from Nami, Luffy then focused his attention on me.

"Did you hear that Asuna! You're both joining Zoro and me!" He said, as I rolled my eyes with him. Although, that didn't make me drop the smile from my face.

"Yeah, but we're not pirates." I reminded him, only for it to go over his head. Not that it really surprised me anymore. He was stubborn with the best of them.

"Now that that's been established, I think we'd better head back and check on Zoro and get out of here. With Buggy out of the picture, who knows how long it will be before the townsfolk come looking for their mayor." Nami suggested, as an imaginary light bulb clicked on in Luffy's head.

"Oh yeah, he fell asleep before I started my fight with Buggy. I wonder if he's feeling any better?" Luffy wondered, as he began heading over to where Zoro still lay. Grabbing the bag she set down, Nami followed after him while I followed after her with the bag I still toted around with me.

Upon reaching the sleeping swordsman, Luffy crouched down and began to gently slap at the back of Zoro's head.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy called as he continued to try and wake up his first mate. "Zo-ro, wake up, we're leaving!" Luffy said, as Zoro finally blinked his eyes open. Sitting up, he regarded the three of us with drained and sleepy eyes.

"Did we take care of everything?" he asked, as he put a hand to his temple.

"Sure did. We've got a navigator, and a blacksmith, and a chart of the Grand Line." Luffy announced, as Zoro turned to look at Nami and I upon hearing Luffy mention us. However, as he turned to look at Nami, he got a suspicious look on his face. Much like the one he gave me back at the marine base before he joined Luffy.

"I'm not so sure about this shit." Zoro said, as he began to look green. "I feel lightheaded."

"Well, that tends to happen when you loose too much blood and don't look after the wound properly." I remarked sarcastically. Zoro cast an irritated look my way, but if I had to guess, he didn't feel well enough at the moment to retort.

"Honestly, it's always something with you two." Nami followed up, as Luffy gave her a confused look.

"Hey, what did I do?" He asked, as Nami bared her teeth at him.

"You're worse than anyone I've ever met!" Nami snapped at him, as she took a calming breath. Not that I could blame her. I didn't really do much in this fight, but running from Buggy had been tiring. Especially when he pulled those creepy as faces at us.

"Look, we're all tired. Let's just help the mayor so he can go back home, and get going." I suggested, as the four of us turned to look towards Boodle's unconscious form.

"I guess you're right. Now that everything's over, it should be safe to wake the old guy up." Luffy agreed, as he got to his feet to do just that.

Before he could so much as take a step towards Boodle, a bunch of people who were obviously not pirates showed up.

 _These must be the towns people Boodle was ready to fight and die for_. I thought, as I examined the pitchforks and rakes, and home made spears. _And from the looks of things, we'd better be careful of what we say_.

"You there! None of you are residents of this town." One of them said, as Luffy turned to face the man who spoke.

"Nope, who are you guys?" He asked, only for his question to be ignored.

"What was all of that cannon fire earlier?" the man asked once more. "If you know anything, then please tell us."

"That's a relief, I was afraid that they were more pirates." Nami commented, as I hummed in agreement.

"Even so, be ready to run." I told her quietly, as Nami gave me a confused look.

"Why?" she asked, as I nodded my heads towards the tools and home made weapons. Seeing them as well, Nami began to become nervous. A feeling that increased the moment the towns people noticed Boodle lying out cold on the ground. My reason for why we needed to be ready to run was clear to her now.

As the townsfolk crowed around their beloved mayor, they began speculating what happened to him. When they reached the conclusion that the pirates had beaten him up, Luffy decided that he had to open his big mouth.

"No, I'm the one who kicked that old man's ass." Luffy said bluntly, as the townsfolk turned murderous glares our way.

"Hold on, Luffy! You didn't have to tell them _that_!" Nami whispered harshly, as Luffy gave her a straight look.

"Well, it's true." He answered, not even bothering to try and maintain the volume of his voice.

"Well fine, then explain to them why you did it so they won't get angry." Nami fussed, as the townsfolk began surrounding us.

"Uh, Nami. I don't think talking our way out of this was an option the moment Luffy opened his big mouth." I told her.

"Yeah you're right. They're getting rather blood thirsty. So long as they don't know what we really are, our fates won't be sealed." Nami whispered, as the towns people began firing many questions at us.

"You'd better explain yourselves." the man from before asked. "Why did you knock the mayor out and leave him on the side of the street to die?" he demanded, as a man behind him told us we'd better answer.

"Are you pirates?" asked another.

"Who the hell are you guys?" asked yet another.

Hearing them, Luffy turned the straight look he had given Nami at them.

"We're pirates." he said in a deadpan voice.

Hearing this, I couldn't help but plant my face into my palm, as Nami all but fell over. Zoro on the other hand, began laughing his ass off as he held his wounded side. Now that the cat was out of the bag, I grabbed the bag of treasure I held in a tight grip, and reached out to grab Nami by the wrist.

Meanwhile, Luffy went over to help Zoro get up. In his wounded state, Zoro won't be able to run anywhere for a while at least. As we got ready to make a run for it, the townsfolk kept yelling angry taunts at us, and painful promises. Pulling Zoro half onto his back, Luffy then took off at full speed towards a thin line of the towns people. Not wasting another second, I rushed forward as well, pulling Nami behind me as I took the opening Luffy had created for us. Once we cleared the citizens of the town, I let Nami go so she could run on her own.

"How the hell do you always seem to make things worse?" Nami asked, as we ran.

"This is a good town." Luffy commented, ignoring Nami's question all together.

"Huh?" Nami said, as she gave Luffy a confused glance before turning her eyes back to the way we were going.

"They're all so made over what happened with the old mayor guy. So there was no way they'd stop and listen to our side of the story." Luffy said, as he once again showed amazing perceptive.

After hearing this, Nami turned surprised eyes my way.

"Wait a minute. Is that why you told me to run Asuna?" she asked as I nodded my head once.

"Sure is. If they had caught on that we were about to run, then they would have made our escape harder than it needed to be." I answered her.

Luffy, Nami, and I ran a few more blocks before Luffy gives us two seconds warning that we needed to turn to the right down an alley. After we get into the alley a few feet, the three of us ended up having to jump over a very familiar pooch.

"Chouchou!?" Nami called in surprise, as we sailed over him. Soon as we cleared him, and the towns people rounded into the alley, Chouchou began barking at them. Being a well known guard dog, the towns people thankfully didn't try to hurt him in anyway. In fact, they stopped following us.

Again, as we ran faster to take the opportunity that had been granted to us, I couldn't help but wonder just how smart Chouchou really was. So far, he had proven himself to be rather intelligent. Chouchou's actions were certainly not lost on Luffy either.

" _LATER DOGGIE!_ " Luffy called back, as we began to put quite a bit of distance between us and the mob after us.

The three of us continued to run until we reached the harbor. Only then did we even bother to slow down or stop. All of that running, and I was about ready to take a page out of Zoro's book and take a freaking nap.

"That was a close one." Nami said, as she panted for breath. "If it hadn't been for Chouchou, we would have been caught. Why do we have to put up with this? We're the ones who got rid of Buggy and his crew for them." Nami whined as Luffy readjusted Zoro.

"Does it really matter now? We're done with this island anyway." Luffy said, as he took a look at the boat that sat next to the one he, Zoro and I took to get to this island. "Hey, is this your boat? It's nice." Luffy said, as Nami gave it a smile.

"Isn't it though? I stole it from a couple of stupid pirates a few days ago." Nami answered, as said pirates decided to pop up from inside the very boat that was being spoken about. Three clown pirates I've seen before…

"That's a big mouth you got!" One of them called, as Nami jumped in surprise. "We've been waiting for you, ya little thief."

"You never thought that you'd run into us here, did ya girlie?" another asked.

"Nami, do you know these guys?" Luffy asked, as the one who originally spoke hopped off the boat to walk up to Luffy.

"Sort of…" Nami answered, as the pirate who approached grinned down his nose at Luffy and Zoro's unconscious form. Seeing this, I couldn't help but wonder just how much like a girl this pirate would sound the moment he realized it was the man who saved and beat his ass on the way to the island.

"It's not just sort of, we're bound by fate." the pirate said, as I began to feel a bit of anger in my blood. Bastard pops up, talks like he wants to teach _my_ sister a lesson, and hits on her in all the same breath. And from the looks of things, I hadn't been noticed by them yet seeing as I've been standing at the back of our small group this entire time.

"These must be your friends." The pirate who was now digging his grave said, as I began to move forward. "I guess we'll have to punish them as well to teach you all not to go around stealing other people's stuff." he continued, as he began to reach for the back of Zoro's head.

"Hey you! Time to wake up and take your medicine!" the bastard taunted, as his hand neared Zoro's head.

Too bad for him, I managed to grab his wrist in a strong grip before he could so much as touch him. If Nami and I were going to be partnering up with Luffy, then that mean he and Zoro were people fell under the category of the people I look out for. Not expecting this, the man went to pull back, but his arm didn't move an inch. Looking from my hand to me with what seemed like a curse on his tongue, it died the moment he got a good look at my face.

The moment he did, he broke out into a cold sweat.

"So, you're just going to _teach a lesson_ to two people who saved your sorry ass from drowning in the sea? How pathetic." I said, as I slowly began to bend the man's hand backwards. "Didn't I also tell you, that you'll be getting no other kindness from _me_?" I asked, placing an emphasis on the word 'me' as I broke the pirates wrist.

Screaming in pain, the pirate retreated back to his friends, who screamed like little girls as they grabbed their buddy and began running for their very lives.

"Ouchie…" I heard Luffy mutter, as Nami cast a nervous look my way.

"Was that really necessary, Asuna?" Nami asked, as I turned tired eyes her way.

"Hey, I'm not in the mood, and it was break his wrist, or his neck." I told her, as Nami raised her hand in surrender.

"Okay, wrist it was." she muttered, backing off.

With that matter settled, I then set about helping Luffy get Zoro into the boat they would be riding in. Meanwhile, Nami took the task of putting the treasure in the boat she and I would be occupying, and tying the two boats together. A smart idea considering how random Luffy seemed to be, and Zoro's absolute no sense of direction.

As we worked, Zoro regained consciousness again, and tried to get up to help. Thankfully a bonk to the head from Nami kept him quiet long enough for us to finish up, and for Luffy and I to push the two boats back into the water.

Floating out towards the open sea, Luffy and I lowered each of our boats sails to catch more wind. When we did, I noticed a jolly roger on the sail of my and Nami's boat. That of Buggy the Clown. I also wasn't the only one to notice it.

"Hey, isn't that Buggy's mark?" Zoro asked, as Nami glanced up at it.

"Well, this use to be Buggy's boat. Should I change it?" Nami asked with a shrug. Taking a look at it myself, I then glanced at the small cabin Nami and I had.

"Did you happen to see any kind of paint in the cabin after you got this boat?" I asked. "If you did, then I'll paint over it." I suggested.

"I'm afraid not. There's really just a bed in there." Nami answered, as I shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess we'll just have to deal with it then. At least until we reach the next island, then we could purchase a new one." I said, as I thought back to the amount of supplies I now had.

Zip…

Bloody clown pirate…

Before anyone could respond to my second suggestion, we all heard shouting coming back from the island we had just left. Glancing back, I spotted Boodle waving at us.

" _Hey! Wait young ones!_ " the Boodle shouted, as he raised his head up high, as his eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. " _THANKS! Thank you!_ " he shouted at us, as he waved goodbye.

To be honest, it was just as a touching goodbye as the one Luffy, Zoro, and I had had with Colby. Unfortunately for my sister though, all feelings of the scene being touching died when she noticed what was sitting on the ground next to the mayor. The one Nami had asked Luffy to grab…

"WHAT THE HELL LUFFY! DON'T TELL ME YOU LEFT THAT BAG BACK THERE!" Nami screamed at him, while Luffy just answered her with a smile.

"Yeah." he answered, as Nami's murder face started to come out.

"THAT BAG WAS WORTH AROUND FIVE FUCKING MILLION BERRIES YOU IDIOT!" Nami shouted, as she reached across the space separating our boats, and began trying to shoved Luffy down into the water between them.

"Whoa Nami, they need it to repair their town!" Luffy protested, as he held onto the boats for dear life.

"BUT THAT WAS MY TREASURE YOU JERK! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GIVING OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY AWAY! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!?" Nami demanded, as she doubled her efforts. This caused Luffy's hat to fly off his head. Kind of expecting that to happen with the position Luffy was in, I was ready and waiting to catch it for him.

Through Nami trying to murder him, Luffy was somehow able to give me a grateful look. Giving him a nod, I took his hat with me to the cabin on my side of our double boat. Going through Nami's things, I soon found a sewing kit, and the first aid kit she had the habit of keeping should she get into a scrape on one of her heists. Now that I had what I needed, I left the cabin, I hopped over to the boys boat.

Sitting across from Zoro much like I had on the way to the last island, I then set about fixing Luffy's hat. After a few moments of working on it, and trying to ignore Nami _still_ trying to murder Luffy, I felt Zoro's gaze on what I was doing.

"How's your wound holding up?" I asked him, as I glanced up in time to see Zoro place a hand on the wound.

"It hurts like a bitch, but it doesn't feel like it's bleeding as much anymore." Zoro answered, as I went back to what I was doing.

"I could take another look at it for you if you want." I offered, as Zoro sent me a small smile of thanks.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Soon as I get some more rest, I'll be good a new soon enough." Zoro said, turning me down.

"Alright, suit yourself." I answered, as I focused my whole attention on my task. As I did, Nami's and Luffy's argument floated over us.

"STOP IT, I CAN'T SWIM!" Luffy protested.

"THAT'S THE POINT!" Nami shouted back at him.

"IF YOU WANT IT BACK SO BAD, GO BACK AND GET IT!"

"I CAN'T GO BACK AND GET IT, YOU GET IT!"

"NO! THIS IS DANGEROUS! I COULD DIE YOU KNOW!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Looking up from my work, I couldn't help but bust out laughing at about the same time Zoro did.

"IF YOU DO THAT AGAIN, I REALLY WILL THROW YOU IN THE OCEAN!" Nami shouted at Luffy one last time, as she tossed him back into the boys boat. Poor Luffy could only crawl over to the mast, where he proceeded to hug it, as if it could provide him with comfort after Nami put him through such a scary ordeal.

Shaking his head at the scene, Zoro then looked up at the sky.

"Well, for better or worse, we have a navigator and a black smith now." he remarked..

"That we do..." I hummed in agreement.

All that was left, was to look for our next adventure, on the next island.

….…

Next Chapter: Chapter 6 - Captain Ussop and his 80 Million Men

….…..


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